Like A Stone
by Corinne
Summary: What do you do when you get a second chance to be with the one person you love? 3 years ago, a misunderstanding causes Jon to lose his first love. Now he thinks he has a chance to set things right or does he? Dean Ambrose Fic with lots of appearances by random other wrestlers. Please Read/Review
1. Chapter 1

Years ago, I started writing this story and left it unfinished. Life happened, I stopped watching wrestling and sadly also stopped writing. When I saw this story on this site recently, I caught the bug again and just reimagined this story with current characters and just wanted to finish it. So I guess this is a reissue but I will be editing it with a fine tooth comb to hopefully make the story seamlessly changed from the one it was before. Whether you've read this before or are new, I'd love to hear from you. Happy reading!

[It was the night after a RAW taping, and several of the divas had gotten together in to a restaurant afterwards. /span/p

"Ok ladies…if you could sleep with one guy from the locker room…who would it be?" Emma asked deviously.

Brie and Nikki looked at each other.

"Well Emma, considering my husband works with us, I'm going to have to go with him." Brie laughed.

"Yeah Emma …my boyfriend works for the WWE too. That was a dumb question."

"Shut up you guys…I mean it. Like for real…OTHER THAN YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHERS…who would you…ya know…do the dirty with." Emma said laughing at Brie when she spit out her water.

"Ew! Oh my god…do the dirty with? What are you five? You're such a freak."

"Shut it Brie…no seriously. Come on…ok I'll tell you guys who I would totally have so much fun with…"

"Ok you go first then." Nikki said thoughtfully. "But I think I know…"

"I think Wade is hot…" Emma began.

"I knew it! Here we go…give us the "he's probably such a good kisser" speech again." Nikki said.

"Shut up! Other than him though…I think I could also have lots of fun with Doph…" Emma winked at Brie when she stuck her tongue out.

"EW! Dolph? Seriously? I didn't expect that one." Brie said with a slight look of disgust on her face.

"Oohh oooh…yeah…Dolph is totally hot." Nikki agreed, nodding her head emphatically.

"Come on and just think about it, he's got a great ass, a beautiful smile, gorgeous eyes…not to mention that…he's very bendy….YUMMY."

"That's so gross. He's also got that bleach blonde hair!" Brie grimaced.

"Ok ok now you guys…and NO BOYFRIENDS OR HUSBANDS!" Emma said impatiently.

"Hmm…" Nikki began, "This is tough, but I suppose if I was to choose whom I could sleep with it and it couldn't be my baby then it would have be…Seth Rollins or Randy Reigns."

"Oh yeah…I totally agree with the Roman thing…he's so beautiful." Brie said breathlessly.

"Yeah he is." Emma said thoughtfully, "He's almost too pretty. But hey Briella, he can't count for you! You've got to think of someone else!"

"All right…ok if I could have sex with anyone…I'd sleep with…umm" Brie frowned, "This is harder than I thought."

"Umm so let's see, we've gone through…Zack, Dolph, Seth, Roman…umm…wow isn't that weird all those people are taken." She said perplexedly.

"Yeah I know…sucks doesn't it…. but come on, who's your guy?" Nikki said curiously.

"Umm…ohhh yeah…I got it…Dean Ambrose."

"Oh my God! Yes! I forgot about him…he's definitely a dirty kind of guy…He is so fucking gorgeous…that body…those abs." Emma sighed.

"Oh here we go again…" Nikki said laughing at the dreamy expression on Emma's face.

"What? He's got the most amazing body ever! Just enough muscles! And it's not like gross muscle like some of the guys…like Brock…he would kill me!" Emma explained vigorously.

"Yeah seriously…but Dean's got this amazing body and maintains the sexiness ya know." Brie agreed emphatically.

"Hey…he doesn't have a girlfriend does he?" Nikki asked curiously.

"No…come to think of it…I don't think I've ever heard anyone talk about him being involved with any girls." Brie said taken aback.

"Wonder why not?" Emma asked curiously.

"Eh…I think Brian once told me…"

"Brian?" Nikki asked, she hadn't known that Brian and Dean were friends.

"Yeah, they've always been friendly and he was kind of like a mentor to him you know. Anyways, he said that Dean has some big beef with women. He like doesn't get involved." Brie explained.

"Really? Wait…dear GOD tell me that beautiful man is not gay…" Nikki said holding her breath.

Brie laughed, "No stupid, he's not gay. Apparently he's just not interested in getting involved with women in a relationship but ya know he gets some…well a lot actually"

"Weird…wow…Dean Ambrose…a conundrum." Emma said broodingly.

"Awww wouldn't it be sweet if he was like totally in love with some girl and couldn't have her?" Nikki said regretfully.

"Yeah! Or like he had his heart broken and he's waiting for her to come back to him?"

"Oh Jesus," Brie said, shaking her head at the two women's sad faces, "you guys are insane. This is Dean Ambrose you're talking about…I mean he's an amazing actor and can act crazy on screen but then seems all nice and introspective outside of it but believe me…he's no Romeo."

"And how would you know that?"

"Cause guys that look like Dean…never are. They don't need to be." Brie said matter of factly.

"Well if guys like him don't need to be sweet or whatever…what's his issue with girls?" Nikki retorted.

"Who knows…but," Brie began, "Hey…wouldn't it be fun to get him with a girl? Like hook him up with one of our friends?"

"Nah…Dean's not interested in any girl remember. Jesus, he had all those girls on NXT throwing themselves all over him where we were down in Florida and he wouldn't go for any of them…there's something deeper there." Emma said pensively.

"Oh yeah, I'd like to go deeper with him." Nikki giggled.

Unbeknownst to the women in the booth, someone was listening in the table next to them. She had heard his name over and over again….well his wrestling name, but still, she knew who they were talking about. Each mention of the name was like a needle piercing her heart. What were the chances of her sitting next to people he worked with? She bit her bottom lip as she thought of the information she had just heard.

Jon wasn't with anyone…was he really still waiting for her?


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

Jon looked down at the woman sleeping next to him. He gently moved her arm off of his stomach then started inching away from her…trying to get out of the bed before she woke up and started questioning him. He sighed softly…another nameless face. And he just didn't care.

He stood up on the side of the bed, pulling his shirt on and zipping up his jeas. He started walking away when he heard the soft voice behind him.

"Sneaking away? That's kinda sleazy." The girl said biting her lip.

"Oh…ah…I have to go." Jon said tensely. Here come the questions.

"Hey don't feel guilty. It's fine. Tonight was just for fun." She said quietly. Both of them knew there was no emotion involved in it…pure sex. Tension release for him…getting a good lay for her.

"Ok well…thanks." Jon replied walking towards the door again.

"Hey, wait!"

"Yeah?"

"I know you wanna get out of here but I think I deserve something for tonight." She shrugged.

"What? What do you want?" Jon frowned at her as he stood by the door. Shit…he never had to pay anyone to fuck him before. He started taking out his wallet.

She laughed. "No no sweetie…I don't need money."

"Well what the hell do you need then?" Jon asked coldly.

"Unclench sweetheart…It's not like that." She looked up at him seriously.

He stood by the door uncomfortably.

"I like to think that I'm a good lay…So I really don't usually like it when a man yells out someone else's name when I'm fucking him."

"What are you talking about?" He said with annoyance. He frowned slightly.

"Stop it Dean. Who's Anna?"

Jon looked at the woman on the bed. Well at least he hadn't been drunk enough to tell her his real name. Still….she was better than most of the women he had slept with. At least she didn't freak out like the rest. But that's why he had chosen her at the bar…she was a no nonsense kind of woman…he guessed she deserved to know the truth.

"Anna is…" He began…he hadn't said or heard her name is so long. Even after all these years, the feelings came flooding back.

She looked up at the sadness that came on his face when he said the girl's name. Some lucky bitch had this guy all torn up. She looked up at him expectantly.

"Anna is the woman I love." He finally said wearily.

"That explains it then. Too bad she couldn't keep you happy huh…so where is she?" The woman looked at him closely. She had him pegged as a hot meathead after the first minutes of meeting him…but apparently there was something deeper here.

He stared at her for a long minute before he opened the door.

"She's gone." He said quietly, "And you're wrong…she could make me happy…she's the only one that can." He shut his eyes as he said the last part…then walked out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

"Guys, are you ready?" Emma asked when she came out of the bathroom. They had just spent two hours sitting in the restaurant.

"Yeah, just let me leave a tip." Nikki said standing up and reaching into her pocket. She dropped a five dollar bill on the table and began to walk out when she bumped into the woman who had been sitting in the booth next to theirs. The woman dropped her bag and a multitude of products fell out of her bag, littering the floor of the restaurant. Nikki who had backed up initially then tripped over Emma's bag that had been on the floor behind her.

"Shit!" Nikki yelped as she fell backwards. Brie and Emma cracked up then tried to help her up.

"You are such a klutz Nicole! We are so sorry!" Brie said to the girl standing by the booth as she and Emma helped Nikki off of the floor and picked up the stuff that had come out of the bag.

"Oh it's okay, don't worry about it. Are you okay?" The girl asked Nikki as she picked up her wallet from the floor.

"I'm fine. Just a bit embarrassed." Nikki said, her face bright red as she brushed off her skirt.

"Here ya go." Emma said handing the bag to the girl, who smiled gratefully back at her.

"Thanks a lot." She said as she walked away.

Emma, Nikki and Brie picked up their bags and began walking away again when Nikki saw a picture underneath one of the tables. Thinking that it probably belonged to the girl she bent down to pick it up.

"Hey!" She called out but the woman had already walked out of the restaurant. "Oh no, I think this is hers…whoa." Nikki said her mouth dropping open when she realized who was in the picture.

"What Nikki?" Brie said frowning…they were drawing a lot of attention to themselves, and at this point all she wanted was to get to the hotel and get to sleep. The idea of fans asking for autographs at this time of night was simply not appealing to her.

"Look!" Nikki squealed.

Emma and Brie took the picture from her and gasped. It was a picture of Dean Ambrose and the woman whom Nikki had bumped into. They were lying down on a couch and seemed to be asleep; her head was on his shoulder and Dean had his arms around her.

"Whoa…" Emma began.

Brie looked out the window and saw only headlights pulling away. She grabbed the picture and ran out the door, waving at the woman, but she had already pulled too far away and didn't seem to notice her.

Emma and Nikki followed her out.

"Shit…she's gone!" Brie said.

"This can't be a fan picture can it?" Nikki said looking down at the picture.

"Would you do that with a fan?" Emma asked incredulously.

"Good point! But how are we going to give it back to her?" Nikki asked.

"Ah well…we'll just give it back to Dean I guess. He should know who she is." Brie said opening the car door. "It's pay-per-view weekend. We should see him this Sunday."

"I thought you said he didn't have a girlfriend." Emma said, as she climbed in the car.

"Nik, what's the year on the pic?" Brie said turning around from the driver's seat.

Nikki turned over the picture. Jeez when was the last time she had actually seen a picture printed out. Luckily it had a date on it. "It's from three years ago."

"Hmm…just when Dean started." Emma commented.

"Well guys, looks like we'll be getting some info on Dean's sex life after all." Brie stated as she put the car in reverse.

"Whoa…what if she's the one? Ya know, the one that broke his heart." Nikki said dreamily.

"Well I for one, can't wait to find out." Emma said.


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4

Jon lay awake on his bed. He didn't know why he had told that woman his feelings…he hadn't talked to anyone about Anna other than a few close friends from back home. He had just felt the need to say it out loud.

Jon grunted as he turned over in bed. It had been almost 3 years since the last time he had seen her…but everything was still so clear in his head. He could remember that last tearful conversation like a track on repeat in his head. But he didn't want to think about that tonight….all he wanted to think about was the beginning….like the first time he saw and met her….

FLASHBACK:

Jon was excited to actually to have day off and get to spend some time with an old friend who had moved down to Florida recently. He had met Eric in Cincinnati after finding out that he had come from Stamford. Any wrestling fan worth their salt knew that the WWE headquarters was located there. Eric and he had been polar opposites, Eric being the smart, bookish, nerdy type who was a huge wrestling fan and him, well being him. Somehow, the two had been connected by their love of wrestling and had been inseparable during the last year of high school. Eric had stayed local for college and had been one of the few people who had stuck with him when he'd decided to pursue his crazy wrestling dreams. Eric had gone to countless indy matches and always offered his couch whenever Jon had found himself without an apartment. When a job opportunity opened up in Florida and Eric had taken it, the two friends had immediately reconnected and whenever Jon found any time off he would hang out with his old friend.

"Eric, what's up man?" Jon said slapping his friend on the back when he arrived at the backyard BBQ party.

"What the fuck? Jon? Holy shit…I didn't know you were coming to town!"

"Yeah man…you think I'd miss this? Can't miss the annual fourth of July PARTAAAAAY."

Eric cracked up. "Oh man, dude…I have tons of family in town, it's like a weird family reunion thing. My mom went and invited every rando in the family tree. This party is going to be pretty dull man."

"Aw it's cool. No worries no worries. I'm just here to have fun." Jon said looking around. He spotted an attractive girl sitting by herself at a hammock Eric's yard. "Damn…Eric…tell me that she is not one of your relatives?"

"What?" Eric asked confusedly…he followed Jon's gaze and spotted his cousin Anna. "Oh no…Jon…NO!"

"She's cute." Jon nodded appreciatively. "Wait…did you just say no? So she's not one of your relatives?"

"No dude…that's my cousin…Anna…remember I told you about her." Eric said concernedly.

"Anna? Ohhh wait…no…the family's little genius?" Jon paused pensively.

"Yeah…the one who lives in Stamford by the WWE building…so don't even try it." Eric said emphatically. "Cause your little pick up lines, ain't going to work on her."

"Dude…relax. I'm not going to go attack her or anything."

"Fine…come on let me grab you a beer."

"Thanks man."

Eric ran inside his house, joking with people he walked past.

Jon stood in the middle of the yard and his eyes seemed to be drawn towards her. Dude…calm down, Eric said don't try anything. Don't try anything. – But then she looked up and smiled at him curiously. He realized then that he had been staring at her nonstop since Eric had left. He turned around quickly and walked up to the house. But before he could reach the door, Eric came out with beer bottle in hand.

"Here ya go Moxley," Eric said sarcastically, laughing at his own joke, he started to cover his face to mock Jon for his crazed character.

"Shut up," Jon muttered, embarrassed as out of the corner of his eye, he could see the girl watching him.

"Aw come on, act crazy! Haha…come on Mox, let's introduce you to the fam."

"Really?" Jon said incredulously, "Even the hot cousin?"

"All right…" Eric began, "her name is Anna…do NOT call her the hot cousin and if you're going to be hanging around tonight, I can't very well have you hulking next to me all night long. Shit, I'm a player too. So yes, I'll be introducing you to the cousin, and the rest of my damn family. Come on."

Jon smiled. All right…an introduction.

"This is my cousin George, and you remember Ma right?" Eric said gesturing to a tiny brunette woman who was waving at Jon.

"There's Gene, Rob, Carl, Mike and Jen." Jon waved at the group of people standing by the radio in the back of the yard.

"And well…over there's Dad, Nick, Lisa, Nora, and Tracy…and I think that's all the people you didn't know before." Eric finished, taking a swallow of beer.

"Ummm…Eric?" someone said tentatively behind Jon. He turned around and saw her standing there. Up close and personal. She was about 5'8 or 5'9 – fairly tall for a girl, and like the rest of the family had curly brown hair and brown eyes.

"Oh, sorry hun," Eric said placing an arm around her shoulder. Shooting Jon a warning glance, he said "Jon, this is my cousin, Anna. Anna this is my old buddy Jon."

"Hi." She said extending her right hand to him. He smiled down at her as he shook her hand.

"It's nice to meet you Anna. Eric's told me a lot about you."

"Nice to meet you too. I've also heard a lot about you." She said as she looked up at him. Jon shot a nervous look at Eric who had been distracted by some girl who had just arrived.

"Oh…really? Well you know umm…" Jon laughed nervously.

"Oh it's nothing bad. You're his old roommate from Cincinnati right? The crazy woman hater?" She laughed.

"Yeah I am…well was…the woman hating thing umm" He nodded. He couldn't think of anything to say. What the hell was the matter with him?

"Anna!" Someone called out from inside the house.

"I'm coming!" She yelled before turning back to him. "Don't worry, I thought it was great. You're a great actor. It was nice to meet you Jon. See you around." She said smiling at him before turning to go to the house.

PRESENT

He sighed in his bed. That first meeting had been a momentous occasion for him. He hadn't had a chance to really talk to her since the whole family had been around…but he had watched her as she interacted with the family as well as with Eric's other friends. She had been so laid back. And so incredibly nice. She was definitely the good girl type that he sure as hell had never had anything to do with. To this day, he had no idea what it was about her that had attracted him. Sure she was pretty…but no more attractive than your regular prototypical hot girl. In fact…most would call her average. But to him, every single other girl he had encountered since meeting her had been subconsciously put through the Anna test. How tall was she? Was her voice too high? Or too low? High maintenance? Anna definitely wasn't so any girl he dated couldn't be. Is her hair dark enough? - strange considering before meeting her, he had definitely been more of a blonde man –

It was ridiculous! He grunted again as he turned over in the bed once more. He sat up in bed and picked up his cell phone from the side table. Fuck! Usually after he got laid he could fall asleep easier but it seemed like sleep would be impossible tonight. He played around with the cell phone, trying to resist the inevitable.

"All right…fuck this. I'm calling." He muttered under his breath. As the familiar ringing began in his ear, he held his breath, suddenly feeling nervous. Was tonight the night that she would finally pick up her damn phone and talk to him? Whatever she did…he was leaving a message this time.

Anna stared at her cell phone, the glaring green light alerting her of the call. Jon. She sighed, and bit her bottom lip. It was always such a temptation…she thought back on the conversation between those three women at the diner…how they said that Jon wasn't involved with anyone…and hadn't been with anyone for as long as they had known him.

She shook her head as she pulled into the parking lot of the hotel she was staying at. She couldn't pick up the phone…she was already breaking the rules she had set for herself. But she had fallen into temptation and she had driven the three hours from Stamford to Atlantic City to see him at the show. Bad! She sighed with relief when the phone finally stopped ringing, then jumped when the message sound came on. She frowned slightly…he hadn't left a message in awhile. This was unexpected. She leaned back in her seat and sighed as she punched in her passcode to hear the message. She closed her eyes as she listened to his familiar voice.

"Hey baby, it's me. I'm just sitting here thinking of that day we first met. Do you remember that? I miss you. Give me a call…well I know you won't but I just wanna talk. I wanna hear your voice again. Bye."

Anna could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as the automated voice from her cell phone asked her whether or not to delete the message. She saved it, then wiped the tears away. She missed him too…even now she thought to herself…how can you love someone so much, when you can't trust him?

She thought back to the last night she had seen and spoken to him three years ago…when she had walked in his hotel room to surprise him…

FLASHBACK:

"Hey Eric, what's the hotel room number again?" She said on her cell phone as she juggled the bag of presents and his favorite meal from his favorite restaurant back home.

"Wow, you're really trying hard with this one, aren't you cuz?" Eric responded.

"Well…I like him…a lot. Now give me the room number!"

"Ok ok…chill. It's 1857. Have fun kiddo!" Eric said before hanging up the phone.

"Ok 1857." She stopped in front of the door, placed the bags on the floor and ran her fingers through her hair. She knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Crossing her fingers, and hoping that Jon had just fallen asleep, she picked up the bags and carefully opened the door.

"Surpri…Oh my god! You fucking bastard!" She stood in the open doorway in shock when she saw Jon, half naked, still wearing boxers…on top of some woman. She dropped the bags on the floor. Jon had gotten up quickly, a dazed shocked expression on his face.

"Oh god! Oh fuck…Anna!" He had yelled out when she turned and ran away. "Wait!"

But she was too far away…fueled by shock and anger, eyes blinded with tears, she ran the fastest she had ever ran before. She lost him in the hotel lobby when she hid behind a column.

She saw his frustrated expression, as he looked frantically around for her but couldn't find her.

She saw him run his fingers through his hair, watched as other women looked at his half-naked body appreciatively.

She saw him turn around…probably to go back to his hotel…probably back to that other woman.

PRESENT:

She wiped the tears that came so easily, even now, three years later, at the memory of that night. Though he had tried to call her countless of times…even stopped by at her house, it was all to no avail. She couldn't listen to his point of view…didn't want to hear his excuses as to why that woman had been there….

He had almost destroyed her once. In fact she was still broken…she was after all still in love with him after all these years. She missed him though. Missed the feel of his strong arms around her as she slept, the feel of his lips on hers. His smell…that permeated her senses whenever he was around…drugging her, lulling her….

She shook her head determinedly. This weekend was the last time she would ever watch Jon again. This was closure…nothing more…and finally…she was going to get on with her life.

*What do you guys think? Should I keep going? I'm honestly enjoying reading and editing this old story. Crazy how much has changed since I was writing it. Hope you're all enjoying it.


	5. Chapter 5

Part 5

"Hey Girls! What took you so long?" Emma said running towards Brie and Nikki as they entered the backstage area. It was PPV night….the air was alive with excitement. But for the three of them….the excitement all lay in that picture that was tucked snugly in Nikki's purse.

"Hey! Brian was driving", Nikki said rolling her eyes, "You know how he's all got to go in the exact speed limit and well whatever, oh my god…how excited are you? Have you seen him yet?" Nikki asked eagerly, looking around the backstage area.

"No! Damn it…I'm dying to know who this girl is…" Emma said.

"I called John before. He got in earlier from some interview in the city and I told him to keep an eye out and to let Ambrose know that were looking for him. I just can't handle this suspense!" Nikki squealed.

"I know! I've been asking all the guys that I know, but none of them are really close to him you know and…umph" Emma was pushed forward as the door opened behind her. "Hey!" She yelped.

"Sorry Emma …and by the way girls…thanks for helping me with the bags." Brian Daniels said as he dropped the 4 bags Nikki and Brie had left in the car for him to carry.

"Aw, I'm sorry sweetie we were just kind of in a rush you know." Brie said guiltily as she kissed his cheek.

"Oh man…not that picture!" Brian groaned as the three girls looked at him. Brie had gone on and on about her theories on who the girl was and her relationship with Jon.

"What?" They all said simultaneously.

"You guys are so nosy! What makes you guys think that Jon will tell you who it is anyways? What if it's some crazy stalker girl? Or an ex-girlfriend he doesn't want to think about," Brian said exasperatedly.

"Well," Emma began, "Even if she is…and p.s. I do NOT think she is a stalker, she's here in town, or at least was here, probably to see him. If you were Jon wouldn't you want to know?"

Brie and Nikki nodded in agreement.

"No! See the thing that you girls don't understand is that if she is an ex-girlfriend of his, he sure as hell isn't going to want t see whoever that girl is. Besides, you guys ran into her in a diner like on Monday. She sure as hell isn't here anymore. The tickets for tonight were ridiculously expensive and sold out in like 2 minutes." Brian retorted as he ran his fingers through his hair in aggravation.

"You don't know that! Shut up Brian, you're ruining this for me!" Nikki pouted, "He is in love with her and that is FINAL!"

Brian rolled his eyes, "Nikki, you're too dramatic for your own good. And you too Emma . And Brie! I expected more from you."

"Whatever, I'm going to go find him right now." Brie said pulling Emma and Nikki with her down the hallway.

IN THE LOCKER ROOM:

Jon walked through the halls of the arena, the wheels of his suitcase the only sound in the quiet hallway. It was still early and the crew was setting up and the majority of the wrestlers still hadn't rolled in. He pushed the door open to the locker room and looked to find an empty locker to through his bag into.

"Hey Ambrose! Brie, Emma and Nikki have been looking for you!" John Cena said when he saw Jon walk in. John was known for being the first in and the last out of the locker room. His timeliness bordered on obsession but it didn't really bother Jon since John was a good guy who, for all his success, still cared a lot about the business and didn't act like a dick.

"What? Why?" Jon asked curiously. He generally stayed clear of any of the girls in the roster. The one cool chick he was friends with was Renee Young and after a few nights of hanging out as buddies, he heard there were pictures of them online together and now everyone thought they were dating. He put an end to that really quick. He didn't really have a need to have a relationship or anything with any of these girls. He usually just stayed with his old Shield buddies.

John shrugged. "I don't know. Nikki said they had something important to discuss with you."

A knock came on the door and John nodded his head towards it.

"That's probably them now. Good luck kid," He said to Jon as he opened the door.

Brie, Emma and Nikki were all standing there, looking at him analytically.

"Hey Baby," John mumbled as he dropped a quick kiss on Nikki's head. "See you on the bus later?"

"Yeah John, see you later," Nikki uncharacteristically stated as she waved him away. John looked at her in confusion then shrugged as he walked away.

Jon rifled through his bag looking for his knee pads. He pulled them out as he heard the door slam. He looked up to see the three women staring at him.

"Uh, can I help you?" Jon said rather uncomfortably. He frowned, they were all gawking at him at him weirdly.

"Ahem," Emma said elbowing both Nikki and Brie, "sorry, anyways, umm are you busy?"

"No, not really." Jon shrugged. He sat down on one of the benches and looked up at them expectantly.

"So," He began, he frowned when Brie elbowed Nikki and she started digging in her purse, "ah…you guys were looking for me?"

She pulled out something that looked like a picture, and then placed it behind her back.

"All right, what's going on here?" Jon asked, he was slowly losing patience with this weird standoff they seemed to have.

"Sorry," Brie said, "The thing is, we bumped into this woman on Monday and she dropped this picture and it looks like you and so…is it?" Brie said quickly, pushing Nikki towards him to give him the picture.

"Yeah, who is she?" Nikki asked when he took the picture from her.

Jon stared at the picture and was stunned when he realized it was the picture of him and Anna sleeping, that Eric had taken a while back. There had only been two copies and he knew he had the other one, which would mean that…

"Where did you get this?" He stood up from the bench, his blue eyes wide open with surprise and confusion.

"Umm…we were at a diner, and Nikki bumped into that woman, and she dropped her purse and, hey, are you okay?" Emma took a step back when Jon started pacing in an agitated manner. Suddenly, he was very much looking like his ring character.

Jon ran his fingers through his already rumpled hair. "Yeah I'm fine…I just…this is my girlfriend and I just…I don't know."

"Your girlfriend?" Brie asked curiously.

"Well…no…she's not actually my girlfriend but…what the hell is she doing here? I have to make a call." He muttered as he grabbed his cell phone from his pocket. He started dialing as Emma, Nikki and Brie looked at each other in confusion.

Jon gripped the cell phone tightly. He couldn't believe it. What in God's name had Anna doing around here?

As the phone rang, Jon mumbled, "Come on man, pick up." The women looked at each other as Jon seemed to have forgotten they were there.

"Hello?"

"Hey Eric, man…it's Jon."

"Jon? Oh umm…how's it going buddy? Sorry I couldn't be there tonight, but you know how work is. My friend really appreciated the tickets though." Eric said. Jon could hear the hesitation in his voice. They were still good friends, but the subject of Anna had been off the table since she had basically blocked him from her life.

"Yeah…those tickets…who'd you give them to?" Jon asked, though he felt as if he knew the answer. Ever since he had seen that picture…

"What? Ah," Eric stuttered, "Why? Just an old buddy of mine."

"Eric, I'm going to cut to the chase all right, do not fuck with me. Is she here?" Jon asked directly. He had forgotten about Brie, Nikki and Emma standing in the room, none of them had said a word since he had picked up the phone.

"Who? What are you talking about?" Eric asked evasively.

"You know who man…Anna …is she here? Did you give her the ticket?"

"Umm, oh man, Jon," Eric sighed.

"Eric, is she here!?" Jon interrupted impatiently. If she was here, that could only mean one thing. She still cared. And he'd be damned if he let her walk out of that arena without talking to him first.

"Well, yes she is. But she made me promise not to tell you. She doesn't want talk to you man, said she just wanted closure or some bullshit like that." Eric rushed out. "Dude, I wanted to tell you, but we don't talk about her you know, and man you really hurt her, so don't fucking be an asshole about this. She just wants to see you one last time."

"What? What are you talking about? You know I still love her." Jon said angrily, "How could you not tell me she was coming? I've asked you … well not recently, but only because you said you wouldn't have anything to do with us. But you know, that whole thing at the hotel was an accident, that bitch came to my fucking room in my sleep," Jon ranted. He slapped himself on the head in anger.

Brie, Emma and Nikki's jaw dropped open. Now this was some gossip they hadn't expected.

"I didn't even know what I was doing, until I heard her. Do you realize that she hasn't even talked to me since then? Never let me explain myself. I asked you to tell her what happened, but you didn't did you?"

"Jon, you're one of my best friends. But Anna is family, I don't even know if I can believe you. She didn't want to hear ANYTHING about you after she got home."

"Well, you should have forced her to listen. If she's here, then she still cares and she obviously wants to see me. I'm going to talk to her tonight if it's the last thing I do." Jon vowed.

"She's not going to talk to you man. She won't."

"Eric…just tell me where the seats are."

"I'm sorry dude, I can't let you hurt her again."

"Damn it Eric, I need to explain to her what happened. I have to tell her."

"Jon, look, why my cousin? Just don't do this all right," Eric protested.

"Eric, I love Anna. I thought you of all people knew that. I love her, and it's been killing me that for three fucking years I haven't been able to see or talk to her."

"Well, you're the one that fucked up!" Eric interrupted, "I mean it Jon, and she doesn't deserve that."

"I know she doesn't deserve that alright, but I didn't do anything to hurt her. It was all a big misunderstanding. I wasn't fucking that bitch, I swear to you. I…look, I don't have time for this. I have a match tonight and I have to talk to things over with people. And I have to make sure that I see her before she leaves. We've been friends for a long fucking time, and if you care about me at all….tell me where she's sitting." Jon said resignedly.

"I think," Eric hesitated, "She's somewhere in the second row, I think maybe off to the corner of the ring somewhere. She's wearing a Mets hat. Don't fuck this up man…"

"Shit, you know I won't Eric. Thank you…THANK YOU!" Jon shouted as he hung up the phone. "Whew! She's here…I'm going to go find her right now!" He said happily then took a step back in surprise when he realized that the three women were still standing behind him. "What?"

"Anna?" Nikki asked.

"Is my, well, was my girlfriend. I haven't seen her in three years and she's here. Tonight. And I'm going out there and I'm…" he started purposefully.

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold on there buddy boy, if you cheated on her, then there is no way that I am going to let you…" Emma began rather strongly. She had heard him say all that stuff about some girl that he may or may not have slept with, and as a fellow woman, felt that if he had indeed cheated on her, then he didn't deserve the right to talk to her again.

"Emma , I didn't cheat on her." Jon interrupted defensively, "I'll tell it to you straight up right now, three years ago when I was still in NXT I was crashing in a hotel where everyone was staying at. I went out and had a couple of drinks with people cause I was just starting out you know. Anyway, I was asleep and Summer came into my room and started jacking me off…while I was sleeping! I had no idea what the fuck was going one. I woke up and she was all naked and shit on top of me, and I got on her, but I swear to you, it was a reflex, I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't fuck her though, I swear…Anna came in and that's what she saw. Me on top of Summer, but I swear to god, I pushed her off."

"What!?" They all said simultaneously

"But Summer had a boyfriend then!" Nikki said, frowning, but she knew just as well as the other girls did that what Summer wanted, Summer always went for.

"I know. I was just a rookie then, I didn't say anything because I didn't want to start trouble, but I swear to you, I never willingly cheated on Anna." He looked at them seriously, knowing that they were judging every single word that came out of his mouth.

Brie looked at him and frowned. "I believe him." She said finally, then looked at Nikki and Emma .

"All right Jon…but umm you know you can't just go out there right now and tell her that. They don't let anyone out, unless your match is up." Emma stated flatly.

"Fuck! What am I going to do? She'll leave right after my match is finished I know it." He started pacing around the room again in frustration.

"Well…I…don't have a match tonight." Nikki said hesitantly.

"So what?" Brie turned to look towards Nikki.

"Dumbass! Well duh! I can go out there and pull her over here." Nikki looked towards Jon for approval.

"Oh…good idea Nikki." Emma said, patting Nikki on the back excitedly.

"But…" Jon paused when Nikki stepped forward and held her hand up in front of his face.

Brie clapped her hands as she realized the plan. "Oh my god Nikki, you're a freaking genius! Don't worry about it. She'll go out during your match…you have to sell really well…wait…are you losing?" Brie said

"Well yeah, I'm definitely not winning the Rumble."

Nikki continued, "Ok! So you're losing, look really hurt and shit, and I'll go out there and tell her that you're hurt and that…"

"Hold up, hold up! Why are you doing this?" Jon interrupted suddenly. He couldn't understand why the girls were all of a sudden completely immersing themselves in his personal life, considering the fact that they didn't really know him very well and they sure as hell wouldn't be getting anything from him by helping him out.

Nikki, Emma , and Brie looked at each other as if surprised that he even asked the question.

"Um…well after we saw that picture of you guys, we were just DYING to find out who she was and, actually….I don't really know…" Nikki said finally.

"Who care's why we're doing this? We're going to help you get your girl back Dean Ambrose!" Brie yelled loudly, throwing up her hands in the air in enthusiastically.

"Yes! And in return…we want to know EVERYTHING." Emma said delightedly.

Jon frowned and looked at them confusedly. Well, he thought to himself, this may be my last chance to get Anna to talk to me…and there's no other way to get her back here.

"Ok, but can you guys start calling me Jon?" He finally said resignedly.

"Ok!" They all said simultaneously.

"Alright, I've got to go look for a hat and some clothes that don't look like mine…Oh wait!" Nikki said, grabbing a hat from John's locker.

"Whoa, wait he might need that!" Jon protested.

"Oh Jesus, he'll find another one, he's got like a million, I should know! I have to color code and organize them. I also need a sweatshirt and…I guess these pants are cool."

"Hold up, when are you going out there?" Brie asked suddenly.

"Umm…I guess I can go out during the Rumble, and I can just grab her when Jon gets 'hurt'", Nikki said with air quotes.

Brie nodded in agreement. She looked down at her watch suddenly, "Oh crap, I have to go find Daniel, he's probably wondering where I've been. I'll see you guys later."

"Nikki, don't freak her out all right. Just be cool." Emma said.

"We'll be fine…as long as the "Lunatic Fringe" over here does a good job with the selling and doesn't act too crazy and gross and then gets that white film in his mouth," Nikki shuddered

"Hey! I'm trying to act crazy and I can't help the goddamn spit from building up damn it. And stop questioning my ability to sell, I can sell, I mean shit," Jon rambled beginning to get insulted.

"Oh relax, I'm going to go get your girl back here and I don't want you to screw it up." Nikki shook her head and looked at him sympathetically.

"Yeah Jon, don't fuck up." Brie continued.

Emma narrowed her eyes at him and put her hands on her hips. "And if you do fuck it up, I'm just not even going to know what to do with you."

Jon swallowed hard, all of a sudden he felt a feeling of nervousness come over him. "Oh man, what if she doesn't see me? What if she really doesn't care anymore?" He sat down on the bench dejectedly.

Brie, Emma and Nikki looked at him in compassion.

"Dude, she's carrying a picture of the two of you guys together. And she drove three hours and hung out here for a week to see you after three years, to get closure? Believe me, if she was over you, there'd be no way she would need to go through all that trouble." Brie sat down next to him and patted him supportively on the back.

"Yeah Jon, you just have to be real sweet and honest and tell her how you feel. And you just have to make her see the truth and make her really understand that you really care about her." Nikki said.

"I will…I really miss her. Fuck, these last couples of years have been just fucking pathetic. Do you know that I've called her at least once a week since she dumped me, just to hear her voice."

Emma gasped in surprise. Jon turned to look back at her. She had been the only one who still reserved some doubt about his sincerity. "You really did that?" She asked breathlessly.

"Yeah, she means everything to me. Do you know what it feels like to love someone and they don't want to have anything to do with you?"

"Yeah Jon, I do." Emma said quietly. Nikki and Brie looked at each other in surprise. Suddenly, Emma smiled, "I'm going to go out there with you Nikki. Just in case she needs any more convincing. Don't worry Jon, we'll get her back here. Come on Nikki, we got to plan this out. And Briella, I think your match is coming up." She said quickly, grabbing hold of Nikki's arms and began to pull her out of the locker room.

Right before they were out the door, she turned around. "Oh and Jon, don't act like you know she's there. It'll freak her out. Just go out there, do your thing and we'll have her backstage after the match."

_**Thanks for reviews! Keep it up guys, keeps me motivated! **_


	6. Chapter 6

Part 6

Anna hesitated before getting out of her car in the parking lot of the arena. She breathed in deeply and closed her eyes, her ears buzzing with the memories of a certain message left on her machine several years ago.

FLASHBACK:

"Baby, I swear to God…I don't know what the fuck she was doing there."

As she stared down at the answering machine, she could almost imagine Jon throwing his hands up in frustration and the sound of a muffled thud indicated that he had just hit something as he talked on his phone.

"Pick up the phone Anna…Please! Pick up!"

She heard her roommate enter the living room, but she didn't turn to look at her.

"Anna…pick up the phone for crying out loud. I'm so sick of him calling here all the time." Jane said quietly to her friend who was huddled in the corner of the couch.

Anna shook her head. "I can't talk to him." She whispered, standing up and walking out of the room.

"I know you're there baby! Pick up! Come on! I need to fucking talk to you!" Jon yelled at the phone. His voice was rough with desperation. She knew that he couldn't go to her; he had a show on in an hour.

As she stood with her back against the door, she heard him growl with frustration before hanging up the phone. The ringing began again. The machine picked up again, and she wasn't surprised when she heard Jon's voice again.

"Baby listen to me…I love you. I'm not going to stop calling you. I need you sweetie. Come on just pick up…"

Suddenly, she heard a loud beep indicating that Jane had picked up the phone. She could still hear Jon's voice yelling out her name through the phone. "Anna!"

"No asshole! It's Jane. Stop calling here. She doesn't want to talk to you." Jane looked up when Anna ran back into the room a look of horror in her face.

"Jane…please give Anna the phone. You know I love her…."

"She's not here."

Jane turned around when she heard Anna gasp. She shook her head firmly at her friend and then pulled the phone away from her ear.

"What are you doing?" Anna asked in disbelief.

"I can hear her voice. Anna!" Jon called out through the phone.

"I'm taking care of this Anna…"

"Fuck! Jane give her the phone…"

"No! Stop calling here! Have a nice life Jon!" Jane yelled before slamming the phone down on the receiver.

"Wait…" Jane slammed the phone down and Anna could almost imagine the look of anger on Jon's face as the dial tone rang in his ear. Anna had been horrified and her instinct called her to pick up the phone and return Jon's call. As she reached unconsciously for the phone, Jane placed her hand over it, preventing her.

"No Anna, don't do it."

"But…"

"No! He cheated on you! Once a cheater, ALWAYS a cheater. I know this is going to be hard but it's the best thing to do." Jane said. As the phone rang once more, Jane pulled it out of the hook.

"Just forget about him…he's not worth it."

Present:

Anna sighed sadly. Jane had been right, it had been the hardest thing she had ever done, but somehow she had been able to exist for several years without Jon in her life. At least not physically, he always seemed to be present in her mind though.

"This is it. After this, you cannot think of him again." She mumbled to herself as she pulled on a hat to shield her face from him. She slammed the car door shut and walked determinedly towards the entrance of the arena.

Jon exhaled sharply. His hands shook, and his heart beat faster. He began pacing around as the wrestlers around him one by one walked out of the curtains.

"Hey Ambrose, relax man…I mean this isn't your first Rumble, it's not a big deal." Randy Orton took a swig of water as he watched Jon pace around some more.

"I don't give a shit about the Rumble. I know I'm losing." Jon mumbled without turning around to look at him.

Randy looked at his suspiciously, "Well then, what's the big deal? Unless you know about something going down that I don't…"

Jon turned around and raised an eyebrow. Randy was always wary when it came to who would beat him and if he didn't believe that the person wouldn't make him look good, he always threw a big shit fit. "Nah man, It's umm something personal." Jon moved out of the way as another wrestler was called out.

"Personal huh? You got someone to impress out there?" Randy leaned back, the tension visibly decreased in his shoulders.

"Ah…yeah sort of. What?" Jon turned around when someone tapped him on his shoulder. "Hey Brie."

"They're going out now." Brie said smiling at him, "Good luck."

"Thanks," Jon mumbled. As she walked away, Randy made a muffled noise behind him. "What?"

"Nothing, you're not going after Brie are you? Cause I already tried that and that frigid bitch…"

"She's not a frigid bitch Randy, she's just freaking married," Jon interrupted sharply, "And no I'm not going after her, I've got a girl out there right now."

"Whatever kid, whatever." Randy shrugged as he walked away to talk to an official about the match.

"Hey Jon, what's going on with you and Brie?" Seth Rollins or Colby to him, said curiously. He'd been watching Jon and knew something was up. "You're usually weirdly quiet and tense around the divas."

"Uh, nothing, don't worry about it." Jon said tensely.

The sound of a splash of water and the crunch of a plastic water bottle came around the corner as Roman Reigns, Joe, walked up to them whilst wetting his trademark long hair. "This is it guys, it's finally happening, I'm going to win the Rumble." He said excitedly but then seemed to look at them with trepidation. "You guys aren't pissed at me are you?"

"No way man, we're happy for you! You know that. But enough about the freaking Rumble, something's up with our boy here." Colby nodded his head towards Jon. "He's talking to divas and he's freaking out for no reason. You're like the most relaxed person I know before a match."

Roman raised his eyebrows as he looked towards Jon. "What's up?"

Jon sighed. He didn't really want to involve everyone in his dysfunctional love life but these were his two best friends. And one drunken night at a bar, he had told them all the sordid details of his failed relationship. He remembered breaking down and then almost getting into fist fight with some asshole, a fan who had innocently tried to make a connection with him by calling Anna a bitch. Colby and Joe had dragged him out of the bar and thrown him into the back of the car as he had hurled obscenities towards the guy at the bar. They had never brought Anna back up to him in conversation and just seemed to let it go. That was what he had needed, no judgment from his two best friends. He did notice however that after he told them the story, Colby, whose girlfriend Leighla had been fairly close friends with Summer, made certain that the friendship ended quickly.

"Do you guys remember Anna?"

Joe and Colby shared a knowing look. "Ah, yeah. What about her man?" Joe said.

"She's here. " Jon said quietly.

"What? What do you mean? How do you know?" Colby asked in quick succession. He stepped back as Fandango walked towards the Gorilla. He looked around the room and noticed only two more guys had to come out before he, and then Jon, then Joe would go out. "Hurry up! I've got to hear this!"

"Long story short, Brie, her sister, and Emma bumped into her at some diner. They told me because they found this picture of the two of us there. I called up my friend Eric and he told me that he gave the tickets that I gave him to Anna. She's here guys! She's here to see me and Nikki's going to bring her back here so we can talk."

Joe looked at him in confusion. "How the hell is she going to do that?"

"Well, I guess it's a good thing were talking about this. Colby when we eliminate each other, I need to look like I land badly. I'll sell like my life depends on it, which it does, and hopefully she'll come back here to check on me." Jon said. "It has to work, it's going to work".

Colby frowned. "Ah, are you sure this is a good idea? I mean no offense Jon, but this chick broke your heart. Do you really want to start this up again? I mean Jesus, just some kid calling her a bitch set you off."

"What are you talking about? I've been dreaming of a chance like this to happen! She's coming to me! I mean, if anyone had given me her address, I swear I would have just camped out at her house until she talked to me. This is my chance! How would you feel if it was Leighla? You love that girl!"

Colby sighed. "You're right; I guess if that same situation happened to us, I'd do anything I could to get her back."

"You're up Rollins." Someone called out.

"Look, I'll do what I can do. If this doesn't turn out the way you want it to, I want you to promise me that you won't go out and get wasted on your own. I'm here for you man." Colby said quickly.

"Me too," Joe said quietly. Colby ran off and Joe turned and placed a hand on Jon's shoulder. "I know you love her. But buddy, I've never seen you look as devastated as you did that night. I don't want that for you. But if you think this girl is the answer to your problems then I support you. I just really hope that you're right and she's here for you."

Jon shook his head. "I don't think you understand Joe. As devastated as I was at that moment, that's a complete 180 to how happy this girl made me feel. I know everyone talks shit about me and tells me that I am my crazy persona. You know what, they're right. I've been insane since I lost her. I just….I have to make this right between us. It's all I've ever wanted. Just a chance you know." He said seriously.

Joe couldn't believe how vulnerable his friend looked. He couldn't help but worry about the idea that this wouldn't work out and maybe this woman wasn't ever going to give his friend the second chance he so badly needed. "Well like I said, I'm here for you Jon. Be careful out there."

"Ambrose! You're up!" A voice called out.

"Thanks Joe. But this is going to work. It has to." Jon said determinedly. He said a silent prayer in his mind hoping that all would turn out well and then walked out of the curtains.

Nikki and Emma walked in from the side doors of the arena. Emma pulled down the hat lower on her face, and elbowed Nikki. Nikki who had been standing on her tiptoes trying to catch a glimpse of Anna looked down at Emma and smiled guiltily.

"Geez Nik, could you be any more obvious?" Emma hissed at her as she began to walk towards the seats.

"Sorry, I can't help it this is so exciting." Nikki shrugged ruefully as she followed Emma .

"All right, Jon's coming out. Now I told him to fall near her so she can see him and be all concerned like. When he does fall, we make our move." Emma whispered to Nikki, who nodded in agreement, barely able to conceal her excitement.

"Ok, here he goes. Let's just stand back here and watch."

THE MATCH -

As Jon ran down the ramp to join in the ruckus in the ring, he couldn't help but take a quick look to the side of the arena. He saw Emma and Nikki, inconspicuously standing off to the side of the arena. He shook his head, it was amazing what a pair of sweatshirts and hats could do to shield a girl from eyes. As he got closer to the ring, his breath caught in his throat when he saw the familiar orange Mets symbol on a blue hat. He knew it was her, he saw the dark hair, but he forced himself not to look and meet her eyes. His last thought as he entered the ring was that all he wanted to do was get the match over with and talk to her.

Anna held her breath when she heard people around her screaming for Jon. "Ambrose, Ambrose, Ambrose," was a chant that started around her. He looked amazing, as usual, dressed in ripped jeans and a gray wife beater, his wavy blonde hair was a rumpled, wet, mess. She remembered when he wasn't as muscular as he was now, but to her, he was always the epitome of a man. Her heart skipped a beat as she watched him swaggering towards the ring, snarling and punching his hands together, the muscles on his arms defined and rippling as he climbed into the ring. She frowned as he missed a punch to Rollins, he seemed somewhat distracted, and she didn't know if it was just paranoia kicking it but she could have sworn he looked straight at her. She was tempted to leave then and there, thinking that perhaps seeing him thus would be enough. Something forced her to stay and watch the match. She couldn't help but smile as he egged another guy to try to punch him in the face, only to move quickly and head butt the guy.

Jon grunted as he was met with a heavy stiff punch. Paul, a.k.a the Big Show, with his big meaty hands. He punched back, probably stiff as well, since he wasn't exactly focused on the match at hand. Paul grunted, and glared at Jon then returned the punch. The fighting grew heavy, a suplex here, a bulldog there, clothesline, neck breaker, DDT, whatever, Jon did the required moves automatically. He could only focus on remembering whom he was allowed to eliminate but frankly at this point he was merely counting the minutes until he could get eliminated so he could go back stage. He saw a small nod from Colby and knew that it was time. He ran at him pretending to set up a clothesline all the while knowing that Colby would attempt to throw him out of the ring but he would hold onto him so they would be eliminated together.

Anna winced when she saw Jon throw his head back as a good looking guy with blonde and black hair punched him in the face. She silently recounted all the times that Jon had told her that though wrestling was indeed at times painful, it was never really as bad as it seemed. What had he called it? Selling? Yeah whatever. She bit her lip when a large man with long hair came in the ring and began throwing people out like there was no tomorrow.

"Nikki, it's almost time." Emma said as she looked down at her watch. Nikki nodded and they walked determinedly through the cheering fans.

Jon readied himself but just as Colby reached him to take the clothesline; he accidentally looked up and met Anna's eyes. All thoughts flew out of his mind and suddenly felt the air flow underneath him as he was thrown out of the ring. It was almost as though he was in slow motion. At the last second, he remembered to grab onto Colby but not wanting to land on his friend, he twisted so he'd be the first to land. It happened so quickly. He groaned when he felt his body hit the mat covered cement next to the ring, then felt a sharp pain from his knee. He tried to sit up, but couldn't, the shooting pains from his knee increasing profusely. He let out a sharp yell at the unexpected pain, his breath caught in his throat. Shit, he wouldn't have to sell after all.

Anna saw him look directly at her. There was no paranoia now. She felt her heart drum a fast beat, and quickly grabbed her purse, ready to run out of the arena. But suddenly, she saw the two-toned hair guy ran at Jon, Jon held onto the man but then seemed to twist at the end to land first on the mat and on his knee. Anna let out a small scream when she saw Jon's body hit the mat hard. All sounds seemed to dull down in her ears, and she heard him let out a yell from the pain. He lay down, sweat streaming down his face as he clutched his knees. Involuntarily, she felt the urge to jump past the railing and help him…

"Shit Jon, are you ok?" Colby muttered as he sold a hurt back. He knew Jon had landed badly. As medics came to check on the both of them he muttered to him, "I think Ambrose hit hard. Check him first."

Emma began to walk quickly through, her eyes completely focused on Anna and began to grow nervous when she saw her grab her purse. Suddenly, she heard her scream out when she saw Jon going down. She watched as Anna gasp, her face a picture of concern when she heard Jon let out a pained yell. Damn, he can sell, she thought to herself.

"Oh shit," Nikki muttered and as Emma followed her gaze, she saw Anna seem about ready to jump the railing. They quickly pushed their way through the last people behind Anna and reached for her before she could do anything.

Anna shrieked when suddenly two pairs of hands grabbed her arms. She stared down at the hands on her arms and wide eyed with shock saw two women, who seemed vaguely familiar to her. The brunette on her right bit her lip when she began to pull Anna away from the crowd.

"Who are you…what are you doing?" Anna stuttered, her eyes flew from each of the women, but her eyes quickly shifted back to the ring when she heard Jon yell out again, this time for some help.

"You have to go back stage with us, he needs you." The blonde woman on her left said harshly.

"What the hell?"


	7. Chapter 7

Part 7

***Author's Note: So I was thinking that it might be fun to have a little flashback at the beginning of every chapter to show you guys how the relationship between Anna and Jon developed as a contrast to how fractured their relationship is in the present time. Let me know if it's confusing and I'll stop and maybe save the bits I've written for later. Have a great weekend and happy reading! **

_3 years ago – Morning after the BBQ_

_The doorbell rang through the quiet house. Anna rose unsteadily from her cousin Eric's couch. She stared down on the floor and saw two of her cousins sleeping on the floor next to her. The party had basically been an all night rager once all the "adults" had gone to bed. She smiled to herself as she thought about the night before and more importantly the blue eyed man who had basically occupied her the entire night. Jon. She had never felt so immediately connected to another person in her entire life. Trying to play it cool, she had excused herself in conversation with him more than once to get away and to calm herself down. But like a magnet to metal, she found her eyes drawn to him and suddenly he'd appear next to her again. She couldn't believe that how interested he seemed in her. Question after question about what she wanted to do and where she had been. Then there were the times when they just stared at each other in silence and she just felt like jumping on him. She had never been the kind of girl who would have slept with a guy immediately after meeting him, but she had a feeling that if any guy would have gotten her in bed immediately it would have been him. The doorbell rang again. _

_She untied her hair and retied it to a somewhat neater messy bun from last night. Gingerly, she stepped over her sleeping cousins and made her way towards the door. Who the hell could be coming over so early in the morning? She wondered. As she got closer to the opaque glass door, she could see the silhouette of the impatient bell ringer. Tall, broad shouldered, with messy hair. The memory of piercing blue eyes and an unforgettable grin, like the cat that ate a canary, made her heart skip a beat. No way…she thought. _

_She blinked her eyes at the bright sun that streamed through the door as she opened it. _

_An unmistakable, gravelly, deep voice said, "Hey." _

_Anna took a step back as she looked up at him. Slowly up, taking in his flip flops, faded denim jeans, and a loose, old, and worn blue t-shirt that hung on his frame. "Hey." She said back in an almost breathless voice. What the hell. Get it together girl. She thought to herself. _

_"__I was really hoping you'd be the one to open the door." Jon said, smiling wryly. _

_"__Well, your wish was granted." She smiled back. "What's up?" _

_"__Honestly, I couldn't sleep last night." He ran his fingers through his messy blonde hair. "I was thinking that I, well, ok, I was thinking about you." _

"Shit!" Jon yelled out as he hobbled his way backstage with the help of two officials.

"Come on, we gotta get him to the trainer. This knee has to get checked out." Someone called out.

Jon pushed both of them away with what strength he had left. He panted from the pain he felt in his knee, reaching out to get support from the wall.

"No…I have to go see someone." He said through gritted teeth.

"What? You can't go anywhere! You have to go see a doctor kid." One of the officials said, trying to grasp his arm again.

Jon shook him off and shook his head firmly, "She's going to leave. I have to see her."

"Are you fucking insane? You're hurt…do you understand that. You don't fuck around with hurt knees." Another official called out.

"Damn it, I know that but I'll be back. I just have to…" He tried to walk but had to sit down when another excruciating pain shot to his knee. "Fuck!" He bellowed.

"You're not going anywhere kid." Paul Levesque aka HHH and Brian James, sat down beside him and held him down when he tried to get back up. Brie who had been watching the monitor closely and now heard the commotion, walked up to them.

"Jon, go see the doctor." Brie said beside him as he tried again to push Paul and Brian away.

He shook his head frantically, beads of sweat pouring down his face. "No, not until I see her. Go get her for me Brie. Please."

"But…" Brie started, he shook his head again, his blue eyes dark with pain and pleaded with her silently.

"What the hell is going on? You need to go get checked out Ambrose!," Paul said beginning to get irritated.

"Would you give me a minute?!" Jon called out, he glared at Paul and Brian as he grabbed Brie's hand. "Please, Brie go get her." He implored once again.

"All right. I'm going. I'll be right back." She said as she ran down the hallway.

Meanwhile:

Anna tried to pull away but the Emma and Nikki maintained their hold. The end of the Rumble was nearing and the crowd was cheering on Roman while officials ran to help Jon and others to the back.

"Where are you taking me?" Anna asked incredulously. She had been shocked when they had first began pulling her away from her seat, but now…now she was more than a little freaked out. They were both freakishly strong for women, and seemed determined as hell to get her wherever they were taking her.

Neither Nikki nor Emma answered her as they pulled her out of the side doors and began walking quickly towards the backstage area.

"Tony, it's me." Emma called out to a security guard who had started to walk towards them.

"Oh hey Emma. Nikki and…your friend?" He frowned when he looked down at Anna who had tried to call out for help, but Nikki had covered her mouth before she could.

"Yep, it's my friend." Nikki said in an overly cheerful tone as they walked pass him and continued backstage.

Anna had had enough at this point and as soon as they walked through the door, she planted her feet fast on the ground, and used their momentum to push both of them off of her. Nikki and Emma who hadn't expected the sudden act, both stumbled to the sides.

"All right! What the hell is going on here?" Anna yelled in frustration, her brown eyes flashing with anger and irritation.

"Anna, we…well…see the thing is…we're friends of…umm," Nikki stammered, she was flustered now, realizing that they had practically kidnapped the poor woman.

"We know Jon." Emma finally said.

Anna's mouth dropped open. A flash of something indiscernible rose in her eyes but quickly went away. She straightened up, and turned away from both of them and started to walk away.

Nikki and Emma looked at each other in surprise and followed her.

"Wait, please." Nikki called out after her.

"You have to understand, you have to talk to him." Emma added as they continued to pursue her.

"Look, I don't know what's going on here, but Jon and I have nothing to say to each other." Anna stated calmly as she turned around and looked at the two women who were poised to grab her again. "And frankly, I could sue you for false imprisonment so if I were you I'd stay the hell from me."

"False imprisonment!" Nikki's voice rose two octaves.

Emma shook her head and frowned. "Hey, we're sorry, but he just wants-" Emma began.

"I don't care." Anna said and continued to walk away. She began walking away faster when she heard a rush of footsteps behind her and assumed it was Jon. She was surprised when she heard another woman's voice call out.

"Guys! Jon's hurt real bad!" Brie called out when she saw Emma , Nikki and Anna standing at the end of the empty hallway.

"What?" Emma and Nikki asked simultaneously.

Anna stopped in mid step and turned around. She turned around, blood draining from her face. Concern rose inside of her, and she felt a nervous twitch in her stomach as she imagined Jon…in pain…but no, there was no way, he was just faking it, she said in her head over and over again. She started walking again.

Before she could take another step, Brie stopped her with a trembling hand on her shoulder.

"He's not selling. He really landed badly on his knee. I don't know how bad it is but-look I know this seems bad, I mean three women coming after you like this, but we're just doing this as a favor to him. Please come back there, he wants to see you." Brie said frantically trying to convince her to go to Jon.

Anna was tempted, seriously tempted. But the thought of being near him again, hell it would take her another three years to get over it. "I'm sorry," She finally said, "But Jon and I have nothing to say to each other. It's been over for awhile."

"I understand that, but please," Brie pleaded, "He won't see the doctor. He's being restrained by like two guys right now cause he wants to run out here and find you. I know he's in a lot of pain, and he won't listen to anyone. Please. He's refusing medical attention. You're the only who can make him go."

Anna looked into Brie's eyes and saw the fear and panic and realized that she was telling the truth. Jon was hurt. Her breath caught in her throat as she disentangled herself from Brie's grasp and ran down the hallway towards him, her hat flew from her head as she ran but she didn't care.

She looked frantically from side to side watching other wrestlers getting ice packs from people, searching for him, her eyes already tearing up as she thought of what kind of pain he was in.

"Anna!" Jon called out when he saw her running towards him. He stood up, ignoring the piercing pain in his knee that caused him to stumble before Colby and Joe who had finished the match and had taken over for Paul and Brian, held him back.

She heard him call out and she skidded to a halt, suddenly nervous when she saw him being held in between the two guys.

"Jon." She said softly, as he reached for her, his big arms holding her close. He kissed her softly on the lips and just held her to him, burying his nose in her hair and holding her tight.

"Umm…" Colby said awkwardly.

Anna looked up at the man and blushed in embarrassment. "You have to go see the doctor." She finally said when Jon released her.

"Fuck my knee! God you're so beautiful. I can't believe you're actually here." He said once again trying to reach for her. She held him back with one hand on his chest, her other hand reaching up to cup his cheek.

"Jon," She said calmly and worriedly, "you have to go."

"I…I…but" Jon stammered nervously, he was scared to let her out of his sight knowing that she would probably leave as soon as he turned around.

Anna saw the fear in his eyes and knew he was scared to let her leave. To be honest, she had thought that she would go once she forced him to see the doctor but the vulnerability she saw in his face tugged at her heartstrings.

She swallowed hard and bit her lip. She knew then she couldn't leave him. She looked at the two guys standing next to him, both basically holding him up. They stared at her suspiciously.

"I'll wait for you." She finally said, his blue eyes clouded with doubt, and she knew he was not sure if he should believe her. She couldn't help herself. She leaned up pressed a kiss against his lips. "I promise that I'll be here when you get out."

"Come on Jon. You need to get checked out. It won't take long." Colby said calmly. Looked down pointedly at Anna and said, "She promised you."

Jon ignored him as took Anna's hand away from his cheek and kissed the palm of her hand. His blue eyes were dark with pain and desperation as he gazed intensely at her. "Please," he started and hesitated, "I need you." He let go of her hand only when Colby and Joe both started to pull him away from her.


	8. Chapter 8

Part 8

_BBQ: _

_Everyone had basically either left the BBQ or had gone in to the house to go bed. Jon looked at the girl next to him, his hand itching the grab her hand, or hell any part of her body. Dude, relax. Somehow he had a feeling that this girl already owned him or at the very least a part of him. He smiled as he listened to her talk. _

_"__So basically, I got the call from Eric that the family was coming down here and I jumped in my car and started driving. It's one of the best things about teaching you know. I mean I kind of feel an asshole saying that cause I know I should be saying that it's all about the children. But seriously, I love my students but I work hard for nine months straight. I deserve my summers off." She laughed and shrugged her shoulders self-deprecatingly. _

_"__I'll tell you what, I don't remember any of my teachers looking like you. If they had, I probably would have paid a lot more attention." _

_She smiled and pushed him playfully. "You don't seem like the type who really cared too much about school." _

_"__Well I didn't have any hot teachers around." _

_She shook her head and looked away but he could see the smile on her face. _

Present time:

As she watched him hobble slowly away, he turned around every once in a while as though making sure she had remained. She smiled reassuringly at him before he entered the closed doors of the trainer's room. As soon as the doors closed she let out a deep breath and the tears that she had been restraining rolled down on her face.

"Oh God, what the hell am I doing here?" She mumbled under her breath. She felt more than saw the three women behind her.

"Anna," Emma said tentatively as she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

She turned around slowly and met their entreating gazes.

"I just…I don't think….I can't." She stammered out. Nikki pushed forward and led Anna into the women's locker room and away from the prying eyes of the people in the hallway.

"Are you okay?" Nikki asked quietly when they were alone. Emma and Brie had wisely stayed behind, fearful of any more intrusion on their parts.

Anna shook her head slowly as she sniffled away a fresh rush of tears that she seemed unable to control. "You don't understand. I don't think that I can do this. I just think that I should go." She finished hesitantly.

"No! Anna you can't," Nikki said frantically, "Please don't leave him. I mean did you see him? He'll be destroyed. He's hurt already, just-" Nikki broke off when Anna sat down brokenly and leaned against the lockers.

"I know. I don't want to hurt him and I don't want to go. I just know that I should." Anna whispered.

Nikki looked at her in bewilderment. She could see clearly that Anna still cared deeply about Jon, in fact it seemed fairly obvious to her that she was truly in love with, but she also seemed to be fighting some kind of internal battle.

"Is it," Nikki paused unsure if she should bring up the past, but she knew that the only that she could keep Anna here was to keep her talking. "Is it because of what happened before? That girl that you saw him with?"

Anna looked up at Nikki, surprised that Nikki knew about what had happened. "Yes, because of that. And because he still has so much power over me after all these years and I just don't want to get hurt."

"I'm sorry for intruding it's just that well, we caught him unaware today and it just kinda came out. He wasn't cheating on you with Sum…the woman, she came into his room without him knowing and umm well when he woke up instinct told him to get top of her you know," Nikki said delicately, she was surprised to see Anna staring blankly at the wall behind but knew from flashes of emotion in her eyes that she was listening. "He didn't sleep with her and he loves you. He really does. I mean did you see him today? He's insane about you."

Anna sighed. "I know that he loves me and I want to believe what you're telling me. But the thing is, there are bigger problems than that now. And there's nothing either one of us can do to change things." She said evasively.

"What do you mean?" Nikki asked, the sadness in Anna's voice frightened her. She sounded defeated and, she couldn't even describe the tone. It was a voice brimming with pain and anguish.

"I can't tell you. But if I stay tonight, I think I'll only be hurting him more." Anna finished morbidly.

"No. Oh please, you have to stay. I just don't know what he'll do if you leave. He's desperate to talk to you and see you. Can't you tell me what this problem is?" Nikki appealed to her thinking that if she could only get her to discuss the problem all would be well.

"No. I'm sorry I just…wait a minute…you're that girl from the Diner." Anna said suddenly, recognition flashing in her brown eyes.

"Erm," Nikki blinked, distracted by the change in subject matter, "Yes, I bumped into you remember."

Anna frowned suspiciously, "How did you, how did Jon know that I was here?"

"Oh, you dropped a picture of you guys in the diner. We ran after you but you had already pulled away. We recognized him and gave it to him cause you were gone." Nikki flushed guiltily, "And he just flipped out when he saw it and called someone. I think his name was Eric."

"Eric? I'm going to kill him." Anna said under breath.

"Oh please don't. Jon begged him until he would. He held back of a long, long while though."

"Obviously not long enough." Anna said. Nikki didn't respond, unable to think of a proper reply, but sneakily she looked up at the clock and was relieved to see that she had kept Anna inside the room for a while. Anytime now Jon should be coming out of the trainer's office.

Anna broke the silence first. "How bad do you think Jon is?"

Nikki shrugged, "Well you never really know. I don't think he's too bad considering that they didn't rush him off to the hospital, but you can't really tell until you get some x-rays done."

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt if I just stayed with him one night right?" Anna asked as if trying to get some kind of rationality to the notion.

"Well, it would certainly help him. And it seems apparent that you can get him to do anything, so you could definitely convince him to go get help should he need it."

"And if his knee is real bad, then he can't come after me huh?" She said hopefully.

Nikki laughed. "I don't know hun, I think you'd have to run pretty fast even with his bad knee to get away from him. He's real crazy about you."

Anna sighed. Her eyes darkened and her expression grew sad and wistful. Nikki grew concerned when she saw a tear at the corner of Anna's eyes.

"Yes, he is. I wish that…"

Nikki leaned in close to find out what it was that she wished but suddenly they heard a loud commotion outside the door.

"NO! Where is she?" Jon's voice rang out with desperate alacrity. Nikki looked at Anna pleadingly and she simply smiled and nodded passively. Nikki breathed a sigh of relief and then winced when she heard the yells from other people.

"Jon! Calm down man." Joe's voice rang out.

"She's still here!" Brie and Emma called out.

Anna shook her head. "I better go. Thanks for listening." She said to Nikki as she pushed off of the locker and walked towards the door.

She opened the door and looked down the hallway to find Jon leaning on crutches looking frantically up and down the hallway.

"There she is!" Emma called out when she spotted Anna standing with Nikki by the door.

"Anna!" Jon said disbelievingly and started towards her. She quickened her steps to meet him in the middle.

"I told you I would be here." She said smiling up at him. He blushed when he finally realized that there were still a lot of people in that hallway and he was basically acting like a lovesick kid.

"I just…I came out and I…I need to talk to you." He faltered and hesitantly extended his hand to pull her closer to him.

"I'm still here." She said simply, reaching over and taking the hand that he held out, "How's your knee?"

"It's fine…can't even feel it." Jon mumbled still staring intently at her face as though memorizing every detail.

"I'm sure you can't." They both turned around when they heard Colby's sarcastic comment. "Listen lady, keep close him and keep him under control. He can't go running around after you with that knee."

"Shut up Colby." Jon said dropping one of the crutches and placed a propriety arm around Anna's shoulder.

"Damn…would you look at that smile!" Joe snickered when Jon glared at him. "So what does a guy have to do around here to get introduced?"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Jon grinned broadly, "Anna, this is Joe, Colby, umm that's Emma , Brie and Nikki over there…oh well I guess you must have met them already."

"Uh, actually no. But it's real nice to….officially…meet you guys." She smiled at the women and shook Joe and Colby's hands. She saw a few other wrestlers looking at her curiously but before she could say anything to them, Jon started to pull her away.

"Well then, come on let's go." Jon said eagerly keeping his arm around Anna as he awkwardly tried to maneuver his crutch.

"Ummm…Jon. Don't you have some things in the locker room you should pick up?" Colby asked curiously.

"Oh shit…that stuff." Jon said thoughtfully, every second that he was standing here it felt like one more wasted second. He didn't know how long he would be able to hold on to her. Emma saw the indecision in his eyes and quickly took a step forward.

"Well Anna, ah…why don't you go with Jon to the hotel now, you have a car right?" Anna nodded and Emma continued, "I'll grab your bag and drop it off over there later. You have some clothes left in the hotel right?"

Jon nodded, "Thanks Emma . Come on let's go." Anna wrapped her arms around his waist to support him and smiled again at the wrestlers in front of her.

As soon as they exited, dozens of people walked up to Joe, Colby, Nikki, Emma and Brie.

"Who was that?" Bryan asked inquiringly.

"Didn't you hear? Her name is Anna." Joe said knowingly.

"Duh Joe, but who is she? Is that his girlfriend?" AJ ignored the frown that Joe shot at her.

"Well…ah…I'm not really sure." Joe finally admitted, they all turned and looked at Nikki, Emma and Brie.

"Well?" AJ asked.

"It's his…ex-girlfriend. And let's not talk about it anymore because it's none of our business." Nikki responded. She stared them all down until they all looked away guiltily.

"Jesus, you people are so nosy." Emma said and she pushed pass the throng to walk towards the men's locker room. Brie and Nikki followed suit.

As they walked down Brie whispered to Nikki, "You better start talking as soon as we walk through those doors because I need to know everything Anna said to you!"

Emma turned around with a look of disapproval on her face. "Brie!" She cried indignantly.

"What? I thought the nosy thing was only for them…oh…no?" She looked down shamefacedly.

Emma seemed to think about this statement. "I just mean, wait until we get back to the hotel room!"

Nikki laughed and pushed them through the doors of the locker room.

In the meantime, Jon and Anna walked through the parking lot quietly. Neither were really sure what to say. Hundreds of different thoughts swam through Jon's head, but at this time all he could really think was how grateful he was that Anna had been persuaded to take him back to the hotel. He would convince her to give him another chance. He had to.

She helped him into the front seat of her car and took his crutches from him. As she sat down in the driver's side, he quickly took her hand before she could insert the key.

"Wait," Jon hesitated as she turned towards him. He looked at her, and he could see that though the concern was still in her eyes, she seemed to be trying to fight whatever feelings she was having. She kept on looking away, as if trying to steel herself against him.

"What?" She asked quietly.

"Are you, I mean, will you…" He stammered out. Damn it why can't I ever complete a sentence when she's around. It was just that the importance of this one night was making him heady with the stress.

"Jon, I will listen to what you have to say tonight. But that's all I can give you, just tonight." She said firmly, pulling her hand away from his grasp and turning on the car.


	9. Chapter 9

Part 9

Anna looked momentarily at Jon as she drove. He had remained fairly quiet through the drive, only talking when giving her directions towards the hotel. He hadn't tried to change her radio station to whatever rap station there was in the area as he was so prone to doing in the past. Though she was relieved, she was still at odds as to how she was going to get through tonight.

Meanwhile Jon was lost in his own thoughts. In the face of his danger, she had seemed almost to have returned to the old ways…before their break up, before any of their problems had begun. Now she seemed to withdraw again and he didn't know how to bring her back to him. He thought of lying and telling her that the injury was worse than it actually was. In truth, while he had landed badly on his knee, the trainers had said that he would only need a few days off and his knee should be back to normal. He sighed, he knew that he wasn't exactly in a position to ask for any time off right now. His position in the company wasn't cemented yet. And what if she was dating someone else already and this trip was in fact what Eric had called it…closure?

"So…" He began, "How are things?" He tried to sound nonchalant.

Anna turned to look at him distractedly. "Umm…oh you know. Same old same old. I started teaching last year."

"Freshman English?" She had always wanted to teach high school English. Though the family had some qualms about her career path, Anna had maintained her dreams and had kept on the track.

"Yep. My father almost burst a blood vessel when he realized that I really wasn't going to finish my business thing." She laughed dryly, "But I think they've kind of accepted it now."

"Well that's great." He said rather sadly. So many things had happened in her life and he wasn't a part of it. He pointed to the right as they made the final turn to the hotel.

She noted his rather gloomy tone as she searched for a parking spot in the hotel parking lot. "Umm…did I say something wrong?"

Jon shook his head and didn't take his eyes off of the road.

"No, just…thinking of all the changes in your life that I've missed."

She didn't really know how to respond to the statement.

Finally she said, "Well a lot has changed with you too. Look at you…you're a big star now."

Jon laughed wryly, "Yeah, a big star." An awkward silence filled the car.

"Thanks."

"I bet you could get anything you want now huh?" Anna said trying to make conversation as she parked her car.

Jon waited until she had put the car into park before responding. As soon as she removed her hands from the steering wheel and turned to look at him, he reached over and placed his hands on her cheeks. Cupping her face, he gently stroked the soft curves of her face and whispered, "Not everything."

He kept his hands moving, fingers rubbing against the softness of her cheek. He knew that he was greatly debilitated by his knee and if they were to get out of the car now, it would be only too easy for her to walk away from him. But inside the car, they were even. He looked into the brown depths of her eyes and his mind already on the many kisses that they had shared in the past. His eyes shifted down to her full lips his fingers itching to rub against them, to feel the slight moistness of her breath against his finger.

"Jon." She whispered almost involuntarily. He was leaning closer and closer. She could feel the warmth of his breath, the intensity in his dark blue eyes as he stared into her eyes then her lips unnerved her. She licked her lips nervously and started to pull away and protest, but before she could do so he pressed his lips fully against hers. Not the gentle platonic kiss he had given her earlier that night, but one filled with raw emotion and passion.

He knew when she opened her mouth that she was about to stop him. She made a soft sound that turned into a moan against his mouth. Jon deepened the kiss when she didn't protest further, still holding her face between his hands.

Anna closed her eyes as she felt Jon's lips against hers. It had been so long. And good God, the man could kiss. She couldn't resist kissing him back as she felt him deepen the kiss. Somewhere in the back of her mind she could hear her conscience screaming at her to pull away…but that conscience had nothing to the part of her that simply wanted to melt into the kiss. He started kissing her neck…, which she used to love and soon it felt as though the fog that had enveloped them during the kiss lifted and she could see clearly. She panicked and wrenched away from him and pushed him away from her .

Jon knew the exact moment that Anna decided to pull away. He readied himself for her to pull away but wasn't prepared for her thrusting him away. He yelped when he threw his head back and hit the window behind him. They sat there in silence for a few minutes. Anna spoke first.

"Jon…if you want me to stay with you tonight…you can't…just…kiss me like that." She cried indignantly.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled quietly.

"I'm serious. Oh god, I don't think this is a good idea…I should just leave."

"No!" Jon protested. "I promise…hands off." When she didn't look convince, he quickly added, "Why don't we just go to a bar and we'll talk. Around other people nothing can happen."

She looked at him suspiciously, then realizing there was more bound to happen if they just sat alone in his room, agreed reluctantly.

Brie's Car:

"So okay, what went on in that locker room?" Brie asked Nikki as soon as she entered the car.

"Geez Briella, way to wait for the gossip." Emma mumbled rolling her eyes.

"Shut up Emma . Like you didn't want to know either."

"Well yes I did but…" Emma began but Brie interrupted, "Doesn't matter if you did…shut up and let Nikki talk!"

"You shut up!" Emma cried indignantly and hit Brie on her arm.

"Ow! Damn it Emma!" Brie turned around and hit her back. Soon they were both hitting each other in a mock catfight until Nikki finally yelled,

"Stop it you two! Jesus Christ, you're acting like you're 12. Now do you or do you not want to hear what Anna had to say?"

Brie hit Emma one last and quickly moved her arm away so that Emma couldn't reach her.

"I'll get you as soon as we get out of this car Brie! But sorry Nikki, go on."

"Well first of all as can be expected she was like for real freaked out. You know going on about how she thought this was a bad idea and what not. And then I umm slipped and asked her if she was upset about Summer."

Emma gasped. "And what did she say?"

"All right." Nikki took a deep breath. "Here we go, here's the thing that I am so confused about."

"What? What?" Brie and Emma said simultaneously.

"I swear to God. She said, that Summer wasn't the problem anymore."

"What?!"

"Yeah, she said that she could believe that Summer did force herself on Jon. But then she said something really weird. She said that there were more serious issues between them now that neither she nor Jon could control." Nikki finished dramatically. "And I think she was about to tell me what that was but then Jon started yelling like a fool outside…and now, I don't know."

"What do you think she was talking about?" Emma asked questioningly.

"I have no idea man, I really don't. But I'm really worried, cause she said that if she stayed, she had a feeling that she would be hurting Jon more."

"Oh God…you don't think that…well…" Brie mumbled hesitatingly.

"What?"

"Guys, it's been three years. Do you think that maybe…maybe she's with someone else?" Brie looked at both of the girls as she pulled into the parking lot of the hotel.

"No!" Nikki yelled.

"It's possible you guys. It's possible." Brie shrugged "I mean come on, she's a pretty girl. Why couldn't she find someone else?"

"But this is Dean Ambrose you're talking about. It's not like he's some run of the mill guy. He's cute and apparently is a really sweet boyfriend from what I could see tonight." Emma rationalized.

"But…ooh what's that." Nikki was interrupted by a ringing cell phone.

"I think that's mine." Emma said, "Pick it up would you."

Nikki started fumbling through the bags next to her and assuming that it was Emma 's cell phone immediately picked up.

"Hallloooo…" Nikki said jokingly.

There was no response, but Nikki could tell that someone was there.

"Who is it?" Emma asked.

"I don't know they won't answer. Hello? Hello?"

"Who the hell is this?" A masculine voice finally said.

"Excuse me? Ahh..." Nikki mumbled nervously at the angry tone of the man. She threw the phone at Emma . Emma looked down at the phone in surprise and realized that it wasn't her phone. It was Jon's.

"Oh God. Hello? Umm," Emma tried to think of an explanation to say to the person on the other line.

"That son of a bitch. He's already with two women? What hell is the matter with him?" The guy on the other line ranted.

"Wait, this isn't what it seems."

"I don't know who you are, but you give Jon a personal message from his old buddy Eric. Tell him to go fuck himself and I'm going down there myself and getting Anna the heck away from him."

"Wait…no!" Emma yelled at the phone but he had already hung up.

"What the hell is going on?" Brie asked curiously.

"Umm…I think we have to find Jon. His friend thinks that…we're with Jon."

"What?"

"He's coming to get Anna."


	10. Chapter 10

Part 10

Anna sat on the bed as she waited for Jon to get out of the shower. She exhaled deeply. She had impossible thoughts flying through her head…of Jon, which was a huge mistake was considering that well…She shook her head. She couldn't even begin to analyze the ramifications of anything occurring between her and Jon. She repeated the mantra of "This is for closure" over and over again in her head. She grabbed a magazine that Jon had on the side table and began to flip through it. It was some wrestling magazine. She had never really been a follower until she met Jon and while she had gotten into it during the time that they had gone out, she didn't really know much about it now other than whatever piece of information about Jon, Eric tried to drop her way.

As she flipped through the pictures, not really focusing on them, she recognized an attractive blonde woman smiling out from the pages.

It was that woman that she had caught Jon with those many nights ago. She recalled her conversation with Nikki, about how the woman had basically jumped on her Jon…whoa…her Jon? Where did that come from? Whatever, he had been HER'S at the time and that bitch had no right going after him like that. She stared off into space and saw that memory flashing before her eyes.

"Anna?" Jon called out as he walked out of the bathroom rubbing his hair with a towel to get rid of any remaining moisture. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a white button down shirt. He had been about to tell her that his knee felt much better, and whether it was from the ice or the stretches the trainers had made him do, he didn't feel as though he needed the crutches anymore. He frowned as he stared down at he, for she seemed to be lost in her thoughts.

Anna thought back to that moment when she had entered the room to find Jon on top of her, and the heartbreak she had experienced. Where would she be now if it hadn't been for that woman? They'd talked about her moving in with him, and had joked about marriage and kids. An image of a mini-Jon popped into her head.

"Anna." Jon said for the third time. She was still staring into space and appeared to be crumpling some page of his magazine in her hand.

"Anna!"

"Oh what? Sorry." Anna shook her head as awareness came through and she quickly closed the magazine. Not realizing that she had crumpled the page, it obviously didn't close properly and as she tried to straighten the page, Jon reached over and pulled it away from her.

"What the heck are you looking at?" Jon faltered when he realized that she had wrinkled a picture of Summer Rae from the pages of the magazine.

"I'm sorry about your magazine." She mumbled awkwardly. She bit her lower lip as she watched the expression on his face change from confusion to painful realization. He reached over and cupped her cheek with his hand.

"Anna…" He started but before he could continue, she stood up from the bed and grabbed her purse.

"We better go." She rushed out and exited the room.

He shook his head and threw the magazine against the wall. He grabbed the crutch from the wall just in case she decided to leave since he no longer needed it and walked after her.

Meanwhile, Brie, Emma and Nikki were still sitting in Brie's car.

"What the hell? Fuck, what are we going to do?" Emma hit the car window with her hand in frustration.

"Relax Em! It's going to take him a few hours to get over here anyways and he's probably going to call Anna to tell her. She'll explain it to him." Brie said soothingly as she once again pressed redial on the phone to try to reach Eric again.

"Why the hell isn't he picking up?" Nikki asked from the rear of the car.

"I don't know. He's probably…oh who the hell knows." Brie slammed the phone shut and dialed again.

They were all so focused on the cell phone that none of them noticed Anna and Jon walking by the car and leaving the lot.

"I know! We should go to Jon's room. I bet they're there right now and we'll explain before that dude gets here." Emma said excitedly as she quickly opened the door and exited the car.

"She's right. Damn it why didn't we think of that before?" Nikki quickly followed Emma out of the car and grabbed the bags from the back.

Brie grabbed the other bags and rushed with the other two women to the hotel.

Anna drove through the downtown area of the city that they were staying in for the night. They had already driven through 5 bars already and most had lines down the street to get in. Jon had vetoed all of them and was still desperately searching for a quiet place for them to sit down and talk.

"Oh…over they Anna!" He yelled as he pointed to a quiet looking bar in the corner of the street. It didn't look as flashy as the other bars and seemed out of the way. Anna quickly took the turn and parked the car. She had barely taken her seat belt off when Jon opened the door on her side. She frowned. He had hobbled damn quickly on his injured knee.

"Umm…Jon?" She said questioningly as he pulled her gently out of the car.

"Yeah?"

"That knee feeling better?" She said suspiciously.

"What? Oh." He realized then that he had forgotten the crutch in the back seat.

"Do not tell me that you were just preten-" She began.

"No! No! Anna, I swear I really was hurt. It's just that it doesn't feel that bad anymore. I don't know, maybe it was the ice or the stretches or the hot shower. Whatever it was, my knee feels a lot better." Jon quickly explained. She seemed to doubt him at first but then just shrugged and reached inside the car to for his crutch.

"Just take this with you okay? I don't want you to hurt it again." She said handing the crutch to him.

"Wait…you believe me?" Jon asked incredulously.

Anna rolled her eyes. "Are you seriously asking me that?"

"Well I…just…with our history and all and I uh…" He stuttered.

"Yes, I believe you. Now come on, I can't stay out all night, I have to go back sometime." Anna said uncomfortably as she led the way inside the bar.

It was indeed quiet inside. Soothing county music played from the jukebox stand in the corner and several people were dancing on the dimly lit floor. About a dozen others were sitting around scattered tables and were talking quietly to themselves.

"Country huh?" Anna said.

"Wow, we got lucky I guess. Joe got me into it." Jon mumbled as they walked towards a table in the corner. They had just sat down when Anna's phone started ringing.

"Who is it?" Jon asked curiously.

"Erm…I…" Anna began her voice sounding suspiciously nervous, but then she let out a sigh of relief when she saw who the caller was. "It's Eric. Wonder what he wants. Hello?"

"Anna! That son of a bitch. I want you to stay away from him! You need to come home right now!" Eric shouted through the phone.

Jon watched Anna frown and hold the phone away from her ear.

"Eric? Calm down would you. What are you talking about?"

"I just called his cell phone and two girls picked up his phone! Can you believe his fucking nerve? Calling me and telling me how much he loves you and then he's with TWO girls and I…"

Anna looked at Jon's questioning eyes when she heard Eric say that Jon was still in love with her. She cleared her throat and tried to think of a response to Eric's continuous ranting.

"Umm…Are you insane? He's sitting next to me right now. How is he with two other girls and with me at the same time. Think about it."

"What?" Jon asked in disbelief. "Give me the phone!"

"Um…Jon wants to talk to you Eric," Anna mumbled on the phone while Eric continued to rant and rave about Jon's supposed indiscretions.

"Eric, what the fuck is wrong with you?" Jon said on the phone.

"Listen Good, I don't know what the hell is going on but if you are trying to fuck around with my cousin I will cut your fucking balls off." Eric yelled.

"Eric! Leave my balls out of this." Jon smiled at Anna who was laughing hysterically at the comment. She could vividly picture in her mind Eric's protective stance as he yelled on the phone and unfortunately the "colorful" comments he was probably sprouting in Jon's ears.

"I don't want to hear any excuses I just want you to know that…"

"Listen to me!" Jon yelled, "No, shut up and listen! I left the phone in my bag at the arena and those girls that you talked to were taking them to the hotel for me. You probably talked to either Nikki, Emma or Brie."

Eric was stunned and the silence that Jon heard proved this.

"What?"

"That's right man. Emma and the Bellas." Jon explained shaking his head and Anna who was still laughing.

"Shut your fucking mouth. Are you serious?"

Jon laughed. "He's freaking out about talking to them." He said to Anna before holding the phone back up to his ear. "More than likely you were talking to Emma cause she's the one that had my bag."

"No way!"

"Yes. Now could you please not think of castrating me and leave us alone. We're trying to have a conversation here."

"Holy…Emma?" Eric said breathlessly.

"I wouldn't say she was holy exactly." Jon responded laughingly.

"Wow…shut up! I yelled and I…damn…Oh my god." Eric continued to blubber as Jon now laughed at him and handed the phone back to Anna. "Emma? Holy shit."

"Relax Eric. Just call Jon's cell back and apologize. I'll talk to you later all right?" Anna said on the phone as she listened to her cousin absolutely gush about Emma on the phone.

"Right. Oh and Anna…did you tell him?" Eric asked hesitantly.

Anna looked at Jon and a sinking feeling came to her stomach. He was smiling at her, his dimples made prominent and his eyes a crinkling at the corners; probably expecting the ongoing hilarity from Eric on the phone. She smiled back at him, but she couldn't restrain the deep feeling of sadness coming over her.

"Umm…no. Not yet." She said quietly, "I"ll talk to you later."

"Tell him." Eric said one last time before hanging up the phone.

As Anna hung up her phone, she placed the phone in her left hand and began to put it away in her purse.

"God, Eric is insane!" She said running her fingers through her hair, she paused and frowned when she realized that Jon wasn't looking at her, but at her hand.

Jon stared at her hand unable to comprehend what had transfixed his gaze. A sudden hammering began in his heart as he realized why he had been so focused on her hand. He didn't know why he hadn't seen it before…but there on her left ring finger, was the unmistakable figure of a large diamond. She looked up at him and she blinked when she realized what he had been staring at.

Jon looked at her, the horror flashing in his eyes as he reached over and took her hand.

"Anna…" He began anxiously, his blue eyes penetrating as he stared at her, "What is this?"


	11. Chapter 11

Part 10

Flashback:

_Bang! Bang! Bang! _

_Anna jumped at the loud nice that greeted her as she pushed open a heavy metal door. She could hear voices and could feel the frantic energy in the air that she now associated with wrestling. _

_"__This guy can take a bump! Look at him!" A man yelled at a rotund man with glasses. _

_She looked at the ring and saw that it was Jon. He bounced off of the ropes and jumped on top of another guy. _

_"__Hey you! No rats allowed!" A tall dark haired man approached her with an angry look on his face. _

_"__Excuse me?" Anna said in shock. "What did you call me?" _

_"__No ring rats! Get out of here." _

_"__What the hell are you talking about?" Anna said in anger. "I'm his girlfriend!" She said nodding her head towards Jon. _

_"__Whose girlfriend? Seriously, you think you're the only rat who's tried that?" _

_"__Ok seriously, you need to stop calling women rats. That's super derogatory and I'm Jon Good's girlfriend. He told me to meet him here" _

_"__Jon Good? You mean Mox? Yeah right! Hey Claudio! This rat say's she's with…"_

_Anna recognized the name so she turned and saw a good friend of Jon's who stood off near a bench. She had met him a few days ago. _

_"__Whoa Bob, watch your mouth! Hey Anna." Claudio said as he rushed over when he realized who Max was talking about. "This is Jon's girlfriend." _

_"__You know her? Oh shit. Sorry about that. Uh, listen I'm just a guard here. Could you not tell Mox I was giving you a hard time? Sorry about that." The man walked away just as quickly as he appeared. _

_"__You watching our boy here? He's gonna be big star! I know it." Claudio said his smile fading when he saw the frown on Anna's face. "Hey, don't look so down. Bob can be such a, uh, how do you say, uh, brute?" _

_"__He was an asshole Claudio. What's a ring rat?" _

_"__A what? He called you that? Oh man, is he dead!" Claudio shook his head. He had heard about this girl many times from his friend. He knew that Jon probably never talked about the seedier side of wrestling with her. "Don't worry about it. Want to get closer?" He started leading her closer to the ring. _

_"__Hey wait…seriously, what's a ring rat?" She asked again as she planted her feet. "I want to know. I um, won't tell Jon you told me I promise." _

_She seemed like a nice girl and though Jon was a nice guy, Claudio didn't know how this relationship would ever work unless she understood the business. He vaguely recalled Jon dating a ring rat for a while actually and also the ramifications of that as well. He shuddered inwardly. "Uh ok. See, a lot of wrestlers, not Jon or myself and a few other guys too I guess, well anyways, a few wrestlers have ah, how you say it, groupies?" _

_She tilted her head as she looked up at him inquiringly. "Groupies?" _

_"__Ah you know, girls who sort of follow them around and sleep with them." Claudio looked up as he heard a cheer erupt from closer to the ring where a group of other wrestlers had gathered to watch the match. _

_"__Seriously? That's disgusting. Has Jon ever…" Anna started. _

_"__Listen, you better talk to Jon about that. Come on, it really isn't good for you to be standing here alone so stick with me." Claudio interrupted her and talked quickly. He had never been too good at lying. As she followed him quietly and deep in thought, he shook his head. This girl didn't understand this world. It'd never work. _

_Anna knew that Claudio had interrupted her on purpose and she could almost feel how uncomfortable he had become with the conversation. Ring rats? Yet another random and disgusting new factoid she was learning about the crazy life Jon lead. She was falling for Jon and he likewise for her, or so it seemed. She couldn't resist this enigmatic man who had suddenly come into her life. The last month had been wonderful, but what would happen when she had to go home? Insecurity washed over her. How could she compete with readily available sex from thousands of miles away? It still didn't seem real that Jon would be so interested in her. Maybe it wasn't. She bit her lip as she looked up at him and couldn't smiling up at him when he saw her and waved. His whole face lit up when he saw that she was watching him. She tried to ignore the sense of foreboding she felt. _

Present Time:

Anna followed his gaze to the solitaire on her finger. She cursed under breath. She had taken care to turn the ring around on her finger throughout the night so that no one would see it. It must have shifted when she put her phone back in her purse.

"Anna…what is that?" Jon asked again breathlessly. He had now taken her hand and was holding to it tightly, the ring was now cutting into his finger. He accepted the pain…willing her to tell him it wasn't what he knew it was.

She winced at his harsh hold and tried to pull her hand away but couldn't. "Jon…it's…I…" She stuttered as she looked at the terror she could see in his eyes. "I'm getting married."

Meanwhile in the Hotel:

"What the hell? Where are they?" Emma muttered as she banged on Jon's door again.

"They must have gone out to a restaurant or something." Nikki frowned as Emma continued to bang on the door.

"Would you stop it Emma , it's obvious they're not there." Brie laughed at the glare that Emma shot her.

"Holy shit!" Emma jumped when Brie let out a sudden yell and held Jon's phone up to her face. "It's him!"

"Give it to me!" Emma yelped and grabbed the phone from Brie. "Hello? Look Eric, we are NOT with Jon, I swear to God! He's with Anna! We just took his bag and he left his…what?"

"I know. Is this Emma ?" Eric said through the phone hesitantly.

"Umm…" Emma looked at Nikki and Brie who were both looking at her expectantly and shook her head in confusion. "Yes this is Emma ." She finally said.

"Oh umm, yeah, well nice to talk to you Emma . I just wanted to call and apologize for earlier. I was just pissed you know. I was just looking out for Anna and when you guys picked up the phone, I made my own assumptions."

"Oh, well, that's okay. I mean yeah, you had her best interests at heart." Emma mumbled on the phone, turning away from Nikki and Brie who kept on mouthing, "What is he saying?"

"Right. So I'm sorry." Eric said again.

"Okay well thanks for calling back Eric." Emma said smiling, he had a really cute phone voice. Nikki and Brie looked at her as though she was insane.

"I'm a huge fan of yours by the way. I just, well when Jon told me who I was talking to I figured I'd tell you that." He said, and she could almost hear the blush in his voice.

Emma bit her bottom lip and walked further down the hallway away from Brie and Nikki. They, of course, followed her anyways ignoring her frantic waves as she tried to get them to leave.

"Well thanks Eric. That's really sweet of you."

"I mean it. I mean you're a tremendous wrestler. And you're, totally no offense,l you're insanely hot." He finished. Emma giggled and blushed.

"Aww well you're so sweet." She gushed on the phone.

"Oh my God." Brie muttered and rolled her eyes.

"She's phone flirting!" Nikki exclaimed in disbelief.

Emma pulled the phone away from her mouth and muttered, "Shut up you guys!"

"So Eric, how do you know Jon?"

"Actually, we're old high school buddies from Cincinnati."

"And what do you do now?"

"I'm a physical therapist. But I'm actually in med school right now in Boston." Eric said smiling. He couldn't believe that Emma was actually staying on the phone with him. Wow. Damn it was good to have friends in high places.

"Oh a physical therapist and you're in Med school?" Emma wriggled her eyebrows as Nikki and Brie both squealed.

"Umm yeah."

"Wow, that's umm quite a repertoire. And you're also Jon's good friend from home. Hmm…this is interesting."

"Interesting? How so?" Eric knew that they were coming to Boston next week, but he figured he'd let her bring it up.

"Well, we've got a show in Boston next week." Nikki and Brie both smacked Emma on the arm simultaneously. She stuck her tongue out at both of them, suddenly smiled, and mouthed, "I think he's going to ask me out".

"Oh? Ever been around Boston before?"

"Not really. I mean I've been around the hotels and I think I walked pass Harvard square once…" Emma let the sentence dangle and waited.

"Harvard square? That's not all Boston. Why don't I take you out the next day after the show? I'm pretty sure the tickets are sold out and I uh…didn't get tickets early enough." He smacked himself on the head knowing that it sounded like he was begging for tickets… which he was…but didn't want to make it sound like he was. Before she could respond he quickly added, "Oh man…uh…I'm not asking for tickets or anything. I swear. But really if you're free the next day, I'd really…well I would be…honored…." He stuttered.

"Eric? It's okay. The thing is though; I don't have tickets to give you anyways. But if you want to do something after the show and maybe even the next day, I can give you a pass."

"A pass?"

"A backstage pass. You can see the show from the back. Maybe hang out with Jon or well, me." Emma winked at Nikki who was now rolling her eyes.

"Oh! That would be great. I'd love to take you out."

"It's a date then."

"Yeah it is. Oh crap I almost forgot." Eric hesitated before continuing, "Are you friends with Jon?"

"Umm." Emma frowned at the sudden and unexpected question, "Well I guess we sort of are."

"Could you just umm watch out for him? I'm thinking he's going to have a bad night tonight."

"What?" Emma asked concernedly. Brie and Nikki noticed the change in her tone and looked at her apprehensively.

"Umm, well I guess I can tell you then, now that you've met both of them I assume."

"Anna and Jon?"

"Yeah, see the thing is. Anna's umm…Anna's getting married."

"What?! She's getting married?" Emma 's mouth dropped open. Brie and Nikki looked at each other aghast.

"Yeah. I don't really want to say too much about because it's their business."

"Oh my god." Emma said breathlessly.

"Umm, I hope this doesn't change things." He said hesitantly.

"Oh no! No, of course I'm still going to go out with you." Emma said quickly, "I'm just in shock. I mean, it just seems they're so in love."

"Yeah well the thing is, I'm pretty sure they are. I don't really know why Anna's doing this, but she's damned determined and it's her life you know?"

Emma nodded silently then realized that she hadn't responded.

"Oh I'm sorry! Yes, yes it is. Thank you so much for telling me."

"No problem. Thanks in advance for looking in on him for me. I just don't think he's going to want to talk to me for awhile."

"Oh no, I'm sure he'll talk to you."

"We'll see I guess. But I better run Emma. It was real nice talking to you."

"Nice talking to you too. See you next week." Emma mumbled as she got off the phone.

"Oh my God!" Nikki repeated over and over again.

"Poor Jon." Brie said shaking her head regretfully.

"I know, I just feel so awful…but umm…ok…sorry to sound selfish here for a second…but…"

"Emma, it's okay to be happy that you scored a hot date." Brie said unable to restrain a smile at Emma 's excited expression.

"Ahhh!" Emma shrieked happily. Then quickly sobered, "But oh man…what are we going to do?"

"Nothing. This is Jon's thing. We're just going to have to…well try to be there for him I guess…even though none of us are especially tight with him." Brie said calmly as she picked up her bags and began to walk towards her hotel room.

Nikki who had been in front of Brie and Emma turned around as she rounded the corner, "Guys, this is super bad umph", Nikki stumbled as she bumped into what felt like a brick wall.

Joe caught her before she fell down. "Whoops, sorry, didn't see you there."

"You alright?" Colby asked politely.

"Oh, I'm fine." Nikki said her eyes wide.

Brie and Emma stared in surprise, not expecting the two men.

"We're looking for Jon. Have you guys seen him?" Colby tilted his head as he looked down the hallway towards Jon's room.

"He's not there. I think he's out with Anna." Nikki answered.

"Let me call him," Joe said concernedly.

Emma shook her head. "No point man. He left his phone with me. Sorry!"

"I don't like this. Jon's too into this, we gotta find him. You know how nuts he is about this girl. I just have a bad feeling about this." Colby ran his fingers through his wet hair in frustration.

Emma, Nikki, and Brie looked at each other and nodded, silently agreeing to tell these guys the new news they'd just learned.

"Relax. It'll be fine. We got the room next door. We'll hear him when he gets back." Joe said then frowned when he looked down at the women. "What? What's wrong?"

"Joe." Emma hesitated.

"She's engaged!" Nikki called out.

"What?" Colby shouted. "Jon's going to go insane! Shit!"

"Look, we didn't know what to do. I'm glad we ran into you guys. You know him so much better than we do and honestly, this is a little too much for me to handle." Brie shook her head.

"We have to go find him." Joe said. "Listen, thanks girls. We'll let you know how this goes. I know Jon and if he finds out, well," He couldn't help but smile, "There's two scenarios here. Either he's going to go insane and destroy a bar, or this girl won't be engaged for long cause my boy's got game!"

Colby couldn't help but laugh either. Then he shook his head. "True. But I don't want to be sitting here waiting to find out. Let's go find him!" The two man turned around as quickly as they'd appeared.

Nikki shrugged. "I really need to find my John."

"And I really need to find my husband." Brie said sadly.

"And I—wait a minute, don't have either of those. Wait guys! I wanna come!" Emma called out as she ran after Joe and Colby.

"Text us!" Brie hollered down the hall.

***Thanks for all the reviews guys! Sorry for the short chapter but I wanted to post a little something since there was a lot more reviews for that last chapter and even though, yes, I know I still left you hanging, I promise it will all be worth it. Or at least I hope you guys think so. Will update as soon as I can. Keep those reviews coming! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

Part 11

"Where do you guys think he would go?" Emma asked as she strained against her seat and tried to look back at bars they had driven past.

Joe tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. "If I know Jon, he'll be looking for a quiet bar. These places aren't it. Maybe a country place or something."

"Yeah, cause this hick's got him all into Shooter Jennings." Colby muttered as he leaned his head out the window.

"Hey! What the hell is wrong with Shooter Jennings?"

"Nothing man, just that he's definitely country and you got Jon into it, that's all. Should we call him?" Colby pulled out his phone and started dialing.

The ringing started in the car. "Ah guys." Emma started.

"Why the hell isn't he picking up? What's wrong with this kid?" Colby hung up and dialed again. Once again, the ringing started in the car.

"Emma pick up your phone." Joe said. "Try my phone! Maybe he's not picking up your calls but he sure as hell wouldn't do that to me!"

"Hey!" Colby frowned. "He'd pick up my phone call! I've known him longer."

"Ha! But he likes me better!"

"Guys?" Emma said quietly.

"Does not!"

"Does too! He's my kid's honorary godfather!"

"Honorary? That's bullshit! That doesn't mean anything. Jon doesn't even go to church! And hey! What about me? I'd be a way better godfather than Jon! He's crazy and Joelle loves my hair! Ugh what the hell Jon?!" Colby hung up and dialed again.

"Jon's my best friend. Come on Colbs. Jeez Ems, put your phone on silent."

"But I have, " Emma once again started before being interrupted.

"What the hell? And what am I? Chopped liver? That's cold bro!" Colby said.

"HEY! I have Jon's phone! You can call him all you want but it's not going to do you any good! Someone tell me the code so I can try to call Anna! " Emma finally shouted as she slammed her hands on either side of their seats.

Joe and Colby both sat back in surprise. "Jeez Emma, a simple excuse me would have sufficed. You almost hit me!" Colby muttered.

"Yeah, jeez. Relax." Joe followed.

"I was trying to talk but you wouldn't let me. So who knows the code?"

"It's 8487" Joe answered immediately and confidently.

"No way!" Colby said incredulously.

"Yep it is! Thanks Joe! Let me see, Anna…" Emma scrolled down the contacts quickly.

"Hey! How'd you know that?"

"It's her birthday." Joe said shaking his head. "You haven't been able to travel with us lately. It just went by. He was a mess that night."

"So he told you his freaking password?"

"I left my phone in the hotel room when he called me and I had to call up my girls. He gave it to me and I just sort of connected the dots."

"Damn, she's not answering." Emma said flatly.

"They couldn't have gone far. Colby look up country bars near us."

"All right. Wait…what's that over there?" Colby pointed to the right of the road. "Looks like a quiet bar to me."

"Wait, is that a Connecticut license plate?" Emma squinted.

The tires squealed as Joe made a hard right into the parking lot of the bar.

Back at the Bar -

"You're getting married?" Jon mumbled again for the third time. He wasn't even looking at her anymore, his eyes only focused on the ring on her finger.

"Jon…" She said hesitantly as he once again repeated the fact that she was getting married.

Jon looked up at her and rubbed his face with one hand, still refusing to let go of hers. He shook his head.

"You can't get married." He stated flatly.

"Yes, I am…going to get married." She said slowly her heart breaking at the pained look on his face.

Jon closed his eyes. Each time she said the words, he felt like he was getting stabbed in his chest. This couldn't be happening. He had not gotten his second chance yet. She couldn't be…no…it was impossible and yet-

"Who is he?" He breathed out harshly. "It's no one I know right? Tell me it's no one I know or I swear to God I will kill the son of a bitch. In fact I have this sudden urge to drive up to Boston and rough Eric up a bit. He was supposed to be my friend, one of my best friends, so if you tell me this new guy is one of _his _friends, I'm gonna fucking lose it."

"No." Anna shook her head frantically at the tinge of violence in his voice. "His name is…his name is Tom Franklin. He's a doctor from Stamford. We've been together for a year and a half."

He exhaled raggedly. A year and a half…son of a bitch! And a goddamn doctor! How the hell was he supposed to compete with that?

"He was the first man I seriously dated after you." Anna continued when Jon remained silent. "He's a really good guy Jon."

Jon stared at her and shook his head. "I don't give a fuck what kind of a guy he is. You're my girl Anna." He stated forcefully. Jon took her hand in his, glaring down at the offending ring on her finger.

"No Jon, I'm not. I'm getting married in two months." She declared emphatically. Even as she said it she wanted to take it back. She wanted to just go back to the time when she was just Jon's girl and she was happy and in love. She loved Tom, or at least it felt like she had. He was safe and he took care of her. But being with Jon now, it just suddenly didn't feel right. How could she possibly be in love with Tom when at this very moment all she wanted was to throw the ring off her finger and beg Jon to hold her. She closed her eyes, savoring the feel of his hand on hers, his big hand engulfing her smaller one. She tried to pull her hand away.

He pressed the palm of her hand against his lips, closing his eyes as he breathed in her scent.

"Jon," she said uncertainly, trying once more unsuccessfully to pull her hands away from his.

"Hey! You guys want a drink?" A blonde bartender who had been watching them from the side of the bar asked politely.

"Fuck off!" Jon snarled, ready to take out his anger on anyone, anyone else but the person he really wanted to take it out on, this Tom Franklin.

"What the?" The bartender said taken aback.

Anna quickly answered, "I'm so sorry. Um, I'll have a Vodka soda. He'll have a Guinness."

The bartender frowned at Jon as he walked away to get their drinks.

"Jon, what the hell! If you're pissed at anyone, be mad at me. He didn't do anything."

Jon didn't say anything at first. He took a ragged breath in as he tried to control his temper.

The bartender slid the drinks on the bar and walked away, quickly moving over to another bartender and gesturing towards them.

"You need to relax. I know this is a surprise and I just can't even believe this is happening and were talking about this but seriously. I don't want these guys getting you in trouble." Anna said anxiously.

"I need to go to the bathroom. Stay here. We're not done." Jon said seriously.

"I will. I'm sorry." Anna said helplessly. He walked away, turning a few times as though to make sure she was still there. She started to pull out her phone which had vibrated a few minutes ago alerting her of a phone call.

As soon as Jon walked out of sight, the bartender returned. "Hey are you ok? "

"Excuse me?" Anna asked, placing her phone down on the bar.

"That guy. Is he giving you a hard time? He looks kinda nuts and also kind of familiar. I can't put my finger on it."

"He's not crazy." Anna interrupted nervously. She really hoped this guy didn't figure out where he knew Jon from. She couldn't bear being the reason that he could potentially get in trouble. But in her hear she knew that this was the right choice. No way could she get married without shutting the door to Jon forever. Her heart hurt as she thought of never seeing him again the way she was now How the hell had she survived the last three years? Being with him even for the last few hours just reopened the wound all over again. What the hell was she going to do? "He's an old friend and he just got some bad news. I'm really sorry about earlier, he didn't mean it." Anna shook her head. The thought of Jon as an old friend was so ridiculous she almost laughed. For a time in her life, Jon had been everything to her. His sudden appearance and her own sudden departure from the relationship had changed her life forever. What if?

"Well I hate this to say this but he looks like bad news." The bartender said in concern. "Maybe you should call some friends or something. He just looked really pissed off."

Anna bit her lip worriedly. "Listen, he's just having a bad night. He's a great guy. I think we're going to leave soon. I'm sorry again. He really isn't like this usually."

"Listen, if you guys take off from here take my number just in case you need help."

"I won't need any he…" Anna jumped in surprise when she heard Jon's raspy voice behind her.

"And what the hell is she supposed to do with your number dickhead?" Jon suddenly appeared next to her his blue eyes blazing with anger. He had been barely able to restrain himself the last time he had encountered the bartender but walking out of that bathroom to see the guy talking to his girl was just too much. He reached across the bar and grabbed the bartender by his shirt. "Who the hell do you think you are? You stay the fuck away from her." He pushed the man back, and a few bottles fell down as he slammed into the shelves behind him.

"Hey!" The other bartender called, "You get the fuck out of here! I'm gonna call the cops!"

"Jon no!" Anna yelled as she tried to grab onto his arm. He shook her hand off as he glared intently at the other man.

Jon's head turned towards the other man. He started walking towards him and was immediately pulled back by 2 pairs of strong arms. "What the hell Jon! Relax! What the hell!"

"Let me go!" Jon yanked at his arm as he struggled against his two friends.

"Hey! I know you three! You're…" The bartender started.

"Let's get out of here!" Emma yelled. She grabbed Anna's arm as she led the way out of the bar. Anna threw a 20 down at the bar as she was pulled away from. Jon continued to struggle against Joe and Colby.

As soon as they exited the bar, Joe and Colby let him go. "What the hell are you two doing here? I'm going to go back there and give that asshole a piece of my mind." They quickly stood in front of him as he started to make his way back into the bar.

"Jon!" Anna yelled squeezing her way in between the two guys, reaching up to place her hands on his face and directing his gaze down at her. "Stop it! Stop it now!"

He looked down at her, his eyes swimming with pain. She knew that this anger had nothing to do with the two innocent bartenders. He stopped trying to push past his friends immediately, not wanting to hurt her in his anger. He stared down at her intently his breathe coming out of his mouth in fast puffs. He reached up to his own face to place his hands on top of hers.

"Why the hell didn't you wait for me? Why?!"


	13. Chapter 13

Anna's eyes filled with tears as she stared up at him. "I, I don't know" She stammered painfully.

Emma, Joe, and Colby stood back and stared at each other uncomfortably. They figured they would run into a mindlessly angry Jon, but this was a little too serious for all of them. Suddenly, a man came out running out of the bar. "You guys better run! I think the cops are coming!" The man shouted at them as he ran to his car.

"Shit! Let's go! Jon come with us." Joe said thinking quickly and hoping that he could somehow get through the angry haze that enveloped his friend.

"I'll go with Anna," Emma said quickly. "We'll follow you guys. Anna give me your keys."

Anna and Jon stared at each other as the other wrestlers pulled them apart. A break. She thought. She could really use this.

"Anna, the keys!" Emma shouted as she saw a glimmer of police lights several streets away. Anna ripped her eyes away from Jon and mutely handed her car keys over. Emma hit the unlock button and jumped into the car with Anna following close behind her. She narrowed her eyes onto Joe's car as she pulled off into the road.

"Hey, are you alright?" Emma asked, glancing over at the silent woman. She seemed pale and she clasped her hands together in a tight grip that made her fingers turn white.

Anna looked over at Emma and the tears she'd been holding back appeared, pouring slowly down her face. She let out a strangled gasp and immediately looked away.

Emma reached over and placed a hand over Anna's. "It'll be okay," she tried to be consoling because she felt terrible for the predicament Anna was in. However, she couldn't understand why the woman had put herself in the situation she was in.

"It won't be okay. He won't be okay and I sure as hell am not going to be okay." Anna said bitterly. "I don't know what to do. I, I can't think when I'm around him and I'm so confused."

"Listen, I know we just met and all, but I'm a pretty good listener. Um, let me just pull over." Emma drove over to a closed gas station and put the car into break. "Let me just text the guys that we need a minute. I'm sure the last thing you need is Jon barreling in here which seems to be the way that he rolls outside of the WWE or at least with you." She let out a dry laugh and even Anna let out a small smile. Emma stared at her phone and immediately put Joe and Colby in a group text. Thankfully she had once traveled with them and had saved their number. _Doing a little girl talk. Text me when you guys get to a place. She needs a minute. Tell Jon I'll make sure I bring her to him safely. _

Emma bit her lip as she looked at Anna who was continuously crying next to her. "This wasn't su..supposed to happen. I wasn't supposed to see him again. I should have never come here. Now I just feel like the last three years of my getting over him was for nothing!"

"But why? It's pretty obvious to me that neither one of you ever got over each other. I'm honestly kind of surprised that Jon just seemed to be waiting for you to make a move. It seems like he called you once in awhile which means h was thinking of you. I mean honestly, why wouldn't you think he'd wait for you?"

Anna looked down silently. "The thing is, yes, I know he did all of that. But that's crazy isn't it? That a guy like that, who is successful and he's got all these great things going for him would be waiting for me. I mean it's unbelievable. Truly unbelievable. Even from the very beginning, the way that he showed up into my life. That kind of stuff doesn't happen to a girl like me. A famous wrestler and a teacher? Come on, that doesn't happen!"

Emma shook her head. "Yes it does! It's not like we just all get together with each other. Well I guess some do, but not everyone's like that. Jon certainly isn't. And he wasn't even famous when you guys got together. Plus we're really only," she held up her fingers to make quotation marks, "famous to wrestling fans. The rest of the word either doesn't care or thinks were losers."

"Ok then fine. Take away the wrestling factor. Look at him!" She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "And then somehow he was into me. And then the way that he is, well was, with me? It just always seemed too good to be true and it was! Whether it happened then or later, it was always going to end. It's still going to just end!"

"What are you talking about? Anna, Jon's just a guy! I mean, yes, he's a good looking guy. But that didn't mean he would leave you. You," Emma hesitated, "You gave up on him because what? It was _too _good? You ended something preemptively to protect yourself. You didn't even give him a chance."

"I gave him a chance and he ended up in bed with someone else!" Anna shouted.

"But he told you what happened. He wasn't!"

Anna stared at her seriously. "If it wasn't her, it was going to be someone else. He wanted me to move to Florida with him and uproot my entire life. I wanted to do it, I was going to do it but then all I kept thinking about was when we ended I'd just be alone and stuck down there with no one."

"What is your deal? Why are you so damn sure that he would leave you?"

Anna bit her lip and looked unsure of whether or not to say what was in her mind.

"No seriously, there's something here. You keep saying that your relationship would have ended. And not that you would have ended it because oh I don't know, he wanted you to move to Florida, which I can tell you, other than the tax free thing, isn't for everyone. It's like you don't think you're good enough for him or something."

"I'm not. I've never been. He's him and I'm just me. I'm not ever going to have the perfect body or the perfect hair."

"Who the hell has the perfect body and hair?" Emma said incredulously.

"You! You and, well all of you! That bitch that was with him. Brie, Nikki, all of you guys. And the rats! I know about the um, whatever you call it, something rats! Why would he settle for me when he literally has everyone else to choose from?"

Emma stared at her in surprise. This girl didn't see herself the way Jon clearly saw her. Women and their issues. Jesus. "Um, honey, you're very pretty and newsflash, Jon has never been with anyone we work with. A. He has no patience for most of us. He's barely said 10 sentences to me until tonight. B. Even though you seem to think he's God's gift to women, we don't all feel the need to kneel at his feet and fall for him."

Anna frowned at her. "Well then you're all fools because Jon's amazing."

"Yes! Yes he is! Amazing to you! Amazing because of you! You know how you say that you were never with anyone like him? Well, did you ever consider the fact that he has never been with anyone like you? You keep talking about all the women he's around. Sure, that's a lot of guys' fantasies, but that was his reality. To be honest with you, it seems like you, just a regular, smart, girl who thinks he is amazing, that's his fantasy. It sounds to me like you were his dream girl and he lost you. He lost the dream. Who can settle for reality when you've had a taste of the dream life?" Emma said passionately. "All I know is that you gave up on your dreams one. I know you're planning on getting married to what I'm assuming is _your _reality. Do yourself a favor and make sure that you're ready to give up the possibility of your dream coming true forever. Don't do this! You have to give him a chance. For God's sake, give yourself a chance to live the dream one last time and be sure, absolutely sure, that you're okay with giving it all up. Think about it."

Brown eyes clouded with tears. Anna looked away deep in thought. Emma's phone rang. "Oh shit it's Joe." She picked up the phone.

"Hey."

"_Where the hell are you? Jon's freaking out and thinks Anna's gone again. Are you guys okay? We're back at the hotel bar." A scuffle erupted in the background. "Give it to me! Give me the phone! What the hell is going on?" Jon's voice erupted. _

"Tell him to calm down. We're on our way." Emma hung up the phone and looked at Anna who was staring resolutely out the window. "Anna, I'm sorry if I stepped my bounds. I just, I know it am none of my business. Just seriously consider that once you're married, it's going to be a lot harder to change things."

"I appreciate what you've said. I'm ready to talk to him now. Or at least I think I'm ready. Just take me to him please." Anna said mustering a small smile.

Emma started the car and neither woman said a word as they drove back to the hotel.

Hotel Bar

Colby, Joe and Jon sat at the bar, each with a beer in their hands.

"Look, just try to stay calm okay." Colby took a swig of his drink. "Maybe she needed to talk things out with Emma. I know this is your worst nightmare coming true but if you have any chance of getting through to her, losing your temper and taking your anger out on any dickhead that comes near isn't going to endear you to her."

Jon took a deep breath. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I always thought that one day I'd get through to her and we'd go right back where we started. I mean she used to look at me like I made the sun shine for her every day. I've never had anyone love me like that. I loved her for it and it was like I felt for the first time I had this relationship that really made me better you know. I mean I know you guys have that, maybe you had it with other women too. I never had just a normal girl who didn't want anything from me other than just me. I was addicted to it. I guess I was fooling myself into thinking that she stlll felt that way. That one day, I would call her and she'd tell me that she made a mistake and she knew that I would never do anything to hurt her! If she did, if she loved me like I loved her, then she would have waited for me." He put his head down on the bar table. "I'm losing her."

Joe placed a consoling hand on his shoulder. "You know what Jon; I never really got what was so great about Anna. I mean yea you told us she was hot and smart and according to you perfect. But that's a lot to live up to. Have you ever considered that maybe you got too intense for her? I know you loved her. I get that. But she was what? 23? 24? She was pretty young when you guys met. So were you but you lived a fucking crazy life from the time you were 16. Maybe you guys didn't really know each other."

Jon shook his hand away from him. "You're wrong. She is it for me. If she marries this guy, I don't give a shit. I'm not giving up. In fact she's not going to marry this guy because I'm going to make damn sure she doesn't. She needs to remember what we had. I know I can do it." Jon said resolutely.

Joe and Colby shared a look. Joe opened his mouth again but Colby shook his head to stop him.

"Jon, you have to do whatever you feel is right. You okay to be here alone with her? "Colby said.

Jon looked around the near empty bar. 'Yeah I have this. Go ahead up you guys."

"I'm here for you dickhead." Joe said with a wry smile as he and Colby stood up. "Be good I'd say don't do anything I wouldn't do, but let's be honest, that's basically all that you do."

"Later man." Colby said.

Meanwhile, Emma and Anna both stood at the bar entrance.

"Thanks for talking to me." Anna said sincerely. "I'm thinking things over. I mean I still feel the way that I feel. You're right. Our relationship was a fantasy come true. It just wasn't mean to be real."

Emma frowned. "Wait, that's not what I…"

"I know it's not but its how I feel," Anna said quickly. "Fantasies and dreams. There's a reason why it's not mean to be real. It can't survive the real world. But for a moment, it sure as hell feels good when you're it." She quickly walked into the bar.

Anna looked straight forward and found Jon's solitary frame by the bar. She took a deep breath. He turned around immediately as though he sensed her presence behind him. He watched her walk towards him.

"Hey." She moved to sit at a stool next to him.

"Hey." Jon hesitated. "I'm sorry about the bar. I lost control. I didn't want you to see me like that."

Anna smiled dryly. "I admit I was surprised. It was kind of hot though. I probably would have gotten into it back in our day."

Jon laughed. He shook his head. "If only I'd known."

"Well you didn't really have to do much." Anna laughed. "I guess I was pretty easy for you huh?"

Jon stared at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Seriously Jon? Do I strike you as the kind of person who would have had sex with a guy on the first night like we did?"

"Well, no."

"But we connected," they both said simultaneously. Each laughed at the other.

"And yet we couldn't hold it together. I couldn't hold you." Jon said sadly.

The change in his tone sobered up the somewhat easy going conversation they'd had. For a moment it had felt like the way they had been together. Easy conversations but with underlying chemistry.

"I'm sorry Jon."

"I just need to understand why?" Jon asked.

Anna stared at him.

"I don't know." She twisted her ring around her finger. She cleared her throat. Jon stared at the motion of her fingers around the ring.

"Why?" He asked again. His anger had passed now and a sense of failure overcame him. He had never felt this way before. He was always so laid back, the happy guy, but the thought of her marrying anyone else, the notion burned through him painfully.

"It had nothing to do with us. I…I just met him and…well we clicked."

"Clicked? The way we clicked? No way." He said disbelievingly. "I can't lose you."

Anna looked down at his head, his lips once more pressed upon her hand and said quietly, "You lost me a long time ago. Or maybe we lost each other. I don't know anymore. My seeing you with Summer was just the straw that broke the camel's back. I felt like I was already losing you anyway."

"What are you talking about?" Jon said in confusion. "Anna, you were the first girl I ever loved. You know that. I did everything I could to make it work. I swear. Jesus, I even thought about quitting wrestling for you. Remember?"

"I wouldn't have wanted you to! This is what you're meant to be. My god Jon, you're amazing at what you do. It's your gift. It isn't wrestling that broke us apart. I don't know. Maybe it was me. That's why I went down there that last time. I guess I was insecure. But every time I would visit you it felt like I didn't belong in your world. I could never compete with this." She shrugged sadly. "The women, the traveling, this lifestyle. I'm not meant for it. But _you _are. I would have lost you anyway."

"You gave up on me. I've been going crazy for three years trying to figure out a way to fix it. But you were always going to leave me." Jon shook his head ardently. "I never lost you. In my mind we were always together. Shit Anna, I didn't date anyone for three fucking years! Because I loved you…and you KNOW that I loved you." He slammed his hands on the table.

"I'm sorry. It just…it just happened." Anna sighed unhappily.

"Why the hell did you come here? Why? Why did you come to see me?" He looked tortured as he said the words as though they were ripped from him.

"You forget that I never wanted this to happen. Yes, I wanted to see you, but I never meant for you to see me. I just wanted to see for myself and make sure that I was over you." She wiped away at a tear and took a deep breath in frustration.

"And?"

"I'm…" Anna considered lying to him at first but the desperation in his eyes forced the truth out of her. "I'm not over you." She finally said.

A brief shot of happiness came through him as he mumbled, "Then you can't marry him."

"Yes I can. And I will."

Jon's stomach dropped.

"What?"

"I have to marry him. He loves me…and I can't hurt him like that."

"I LOVE YOU!" Jon yelled frantically, he didn't even care that several patrons were now looking at them.

"I know…." Anna felt the tears streaming down her face. She simply couldn't bear to be with him now. She couldn't bear being the one to hurt him this way. Why the hell hadn't he just ignored the ring when he saw it? She thought hysterically in her mind.

"Anna, give me another chance." Jon rushed out, "Before you marry this guy. Just give me another chance."

Anna looked away, unable to meet Jon's eyes.

"Just tonight then…and if you…if you don't feel like…like you love me anymore…then you can leave me. But give me another chance." He leaned closely and kissed her softly on the lips. "When I kiss you…I know you can feel something because I feel it too." He kissed her again, deeper this time, his arms wrapping around her and pulling her closer to him.

Anna let herself get lost in the kiss, unable to help herself from returning the kiss. As he pulled away he stared down at her, her eyes still closed, her lips a deep red from the intensity of his kiss.

"Just…tonight. I want the live the dream for just one night." She whispered reluctantly.

"And then?" He asked urgently. He didn't understand what she meant about the dream but he didn't care.

Anna knew that her mind would not be changed. But as she looked into his eyes…felt the love that he still felt for her…and knew that she still loved him as much as she ever had. She couldn't resist the lie that spurted from her lips.

"I'll make my decision." She said finally.


End file.
